June 13, 2025
The Trump administration is considering a proposal by USCIS officials that would prevent many asylum-seekers from obtaining work permits. For decades a U.S. government policy has allowed migrants with pending asylum claims to lawfully work while waiting for their cases to be decided. The policy grants work permits to asylum applicants whose cases have been pending for at least 180 days. The proposal suggests suspending the issuance of work permits until USCIS (U.S. Customs and Immigration Services) decides asylum cases within a timeframe of 180 days. However, that timeframe seems to be unrealistic due to large case backlogs and lack of funding, staffing and planning - resulting in over 77% of asylum applications remaining pending over 180 days, with almost 40% remaining unresolved after 2 years.
On June 6, USCIS (U.S. Customs and Immigration Services) abruptly ended a policy that provided a protective status for children who have suffered abuse, neglect, or abandonment. Due to technical issues, there is a significant backlog in processing visas for the congressionally authorized Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), which allows the recipients to access lawful permanent status. In May 2022, the Biden administration announced the SIJS Deferred Action policy, which allows SIJS holders to apply for work authorization as they wait for access to lawful permanent status. In its policy alert, USCIS announced it is ending the automatic consideration of deferred action for SIJs who are currently unable to apply for permanent status due to the SIJ visa backlog. It will also no longer accept applications for work authorization from SIJs who had previously been granted deferred action.
After more than 2 months since he was mistakenly deported by the Trump administration to a prison in El Salvador, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is back in the U.S. He is now facing charges alleging that he participated in a conspiracy to transport migrants from Texas to more interior states. His return follows a number of court battles in which the administration expressed its inability to return him to the U.S. He appeared in a district court in Tennessee last Friday where he was informed of the charges against him. The judge set his arraignment for Friday, June 13th.
