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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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The Trump administration said Monday it will allow asylum officers to refer some asylum seekers to immigration court without first interviewing them, ending a longstanding practice that generally provided interviews before cases were sent to immigration judges.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the change in an interim final rule scheduled for publication Tuesday in the Federal Register.
The rule is the latest in a series of federal government actions to tighten asylum and legal immigration since President Donald Trump returned to office last year, including efforts to suspend asylum access at the southern border, end humanitarian parole programs and roll back Temporary Protected Status for some nationalities.
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Critics argue the change will make it easier for the government to move asylum seekers into deportation proceedings. They say eliminating interviews in some cases could deprive applicants of a key chance to clarify facts, explain late filings and respond to concerns that may not be apparent from written applications alone.
One former U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officials told Newsweek the change could contribute to higher asylum denial rates in immigration court without necessarily increasing approval rates at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
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What Is the New Asylum Rule?
The rule allows U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) officers to refer certain affirmative asylum applications to the Justice Department's immigration courts without conducting an asylum interview. DHS said interviews will still take place before it grants or denies asylum and in cases where they are required by law or court settlements.
The affirmative asylum process is used by migrants who apply for asylum with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services while they are not already in deportation proceedings.
How Many Migrants Could Be Affected?
DHS estimates the rule could affect about 132,000 future affirmative asylum applicants each year. The agency says it had more than 1.4 million pending affirmative asylum cases at the end of the 2025 fiscal year.
Until now, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services generally interviewed affirmative asylum applicants before deciding whether to grant asylum, deny the claim, or refer the case to an immigration judge.
The new rule allows officers to bypass interviews when the existing record shows an applicant is barred from asylum or otherwise ineligible for the protection, or when asylum is not warranted as a matter of discretion.
Why Is DHS Making the Change?
DHS said the change will shorten the time required for both asylum officers and immigration judges to adjudicate claims and reduce what it described as duplicative reviews, noting that some applicants whose cases are referred by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services receive a fresh review of their asylum claims before an immigration judge. The agency said the rule will help improve efficiency and allow officers to focus interview resources on cases that require additional testimony.
The rule also removes language suggesting asylum applicants have a "right" to an interview before their case is referred to immigration court.
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Applicants referred without an interview will still be able to present their asylum claims before an immigration judge during removal proceedings. DHS said asylum officers will continue reviewing application materials and may request additional evidence before making a referral decision.
“For far too long the asylum system has been exploited for purposes of delay and work authorization, not legitimate claims of protection,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow said in a press release. “America’s asylum system exists to protect individuals who genuinely fear persecution and this rule will help ensure that resources are directed to the timely adjudication of those claims instead of to those seeking to use the system as a loophole.”
“One of the greatest barriers to effective immigration enforcement is intentional delay by illegal aliens and the open borders attorneys who represent them,” DHS General Counsel James Percival said in a news release. “My office works every day with the immigration components of DHS to improve efficiency and fulfill the President’s mandate. The rule would do just that.”
Former U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services supervisor Douglas S. Pierce, who retired in late 2025, called the new rule a significant change to the affirmative asylum process, telling Newsweek there is a "potential for this discretion to be abused" if officers refer cases that may nevertheless have valid asylum claims.
Pierce also questioned whether bypassing asylum interviews will ultimately make the system more efficient. He said immigration judges will lose the benefit of testimony and analysis developed during the USCIS interview process, potentially shifting more work to an already overburdened immigration court system.
"This will result in many cases being pushed into the EOIR realm sooner than they otherwise would be," he said, adding that immigration judges may have to spend more time developing the factual record themselves.
Amy Fischer, Director for Refugee and Migrant Rights, Amnesty International USA, told Newsweek: "The Trump Administration has turned the asylum process in immigration court into a total sham, where many cases are terminated without due process, people are deported to third countries where they may face danger, and 94 percent of all cases are denied. This is yet another attack on the right to seek asylum, the right to due process and another tool of the Trump Administration to overwhelm the courts and deny people of their human rights. This new rule should be reversed immediately."
What Happens Next?
The rule is scheduled to take effect immediately upon publication in the Federal Register, allowing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to begin referring some affirmative asylum applications to immigration court without first conducting interviews. Applicants referred under the new process will still be able to pursue their asylum claims before an immigration judge during removal proceedings.
DHS said it will continue accepting public comments on the rule after it takes effect.
Update 7/27/26, 03:42 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Douglas S. Pierce and Amy Fischer.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Daniel Orton, Sam Wilson and Tony Phillips
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