The Trump administration is advancing plans to dismiss asylum claims for potentially hundreds of thousands of migrants in the U.S., a move that would render many immediately deportable as part of a broader immigration crackdown.
The plan marks a significant escalation in the administration’s efforts to restrict access to legal protections, amid mounting pressure on federal authorities to deliver record immigration enforcement results.
According to sources familiar with the matter, officials have been quietly working to expand the pool of migrants eligible for removal by targeting those who entered the U.S. unlawfully and later filed for asylum. Under the proposed shift, such individuals would see their pending cases closed, placing them at imminent risk of deportation.
Data from a 2023 federal report indicates that approximately 25% of asylum applicants over the past decade admitted to entering the country illegally—roughly equating to over 250,000 people. The remaining applicants arrived legally through ports of entry, often on various types of visas.
U.S. law permits individuals fleeing violence or persecution to apply for asylum, providing a legal pathway to remain in the country. However, since taking office, President Trump has steadily curtailed access to this protection, particularly along the southern border.
Currently, about 1.45 million affirmative asylum applications are pending with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency traditionally responsible for processing immigration benefits. But a recent memo obtained by CNN reveals that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has granted USCIS new authority to initiate fast-track deportation proceedings and carry out enforcement actions—powers historically exercised by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
This shift marks a major departure from USCIS’s prior role. While the agency did not confirm any new measures, spokesperson Matthew Tragesser stated that “USCIS’s top priority remains screening and vetting all foreign nationals seeking to come, live, or work in the United States.” He added that President Trump and Secretary Noem have empowered the agency to “ensure the integrity of the immigration system, uncover fraud, and remove illegal aliens from the country.”
Previously, when USCIS determined an applicant was ineligible for relief, the individual would be referred to ICE. But under the new directive, USCIS could initiate expedited removal without the need for an immigration court hearing—effectively bypassing long-standing procedural norms.
Immigration advocates have warned that this approach could discourage vulnerable migrants from applying for asylum altogether. Sarah Mehta, deputy director of government affairs for the ACLU’s equality division, said, “They’re turning the agency that we think of as providing immigration benefits into an enforcement arm for ICE.”
Migrants whose claims are dismissed under the new policy would be subject to expedited removal—a process the Trump administration had already expanded to include any undocumented person unable to prove at least two years of continuous U.S. residence.
