The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun accepting asylum claims for certain foreign nationals after earlier halting processing of such claims altogether, the agency announced in a March 30 statement.
According to USCIS, it has now set up an internal process for lifting the hold on some asylum applications, requiring such claims to undergo “comprehensive review by multiple offices.”
Specifically, “holds have been lifted for aliens vetted through Operation PARRIS, certain petitions filed by U.S. citizens, intercountry adoption forms, certain rescheduled oath ceremonies, statutory and regulatory decision issuance, refugee registrations for South African citizens/nationals, certain special immigrant visa petitions, certain employment authorization documents, and asylum applications from non high-risk countries,” the agency said.
Operation PARRIS conducts re-interviews, additional background checks, and merit reviews of refugee claims.
USCIS clarified it will “continue to strengthen our screening and vetting procedures to ensure maximum protection for national security and public safety, and to root out fraud in the immigration system. Our ongoing efforts are designed to ensure that only eligible and vetted individuals are granted immigration benefits.”
An ongoing review conducted by USCIS determined that prior screening measures were “wholly inadequate,” with many applications for naturalization and lawful permanent residence improperly vetted. As a consequence, foreign nationals who should not have been naturalized ended up getting their applications approved, according to USCIS.
The agency said it has implemented multiple enhanced screening and vetting practices over the past several months.
This includes increasing social media and financial vetting of asylum applicants, shortening the validity periods for certain Employment Authorization Documents to conduct more security checks, and updating policies regarding the reuse of photographs to strengthen identity verification.
According to the agency, it is developing a “layered vetting plan” that incorporates classified and unclassified information, identity verification, expanded criminal history checks, and other checks for applicants to close security gaps.
“These actions reflect the Trump administration’s commitment to making America safe again. USCIS will remain vigilant and proactive in protecting the United States from foreign terrorists, criminal aliens, those who commit fraud, and other threats,” the agency said.
In a statement to The Epoch Times, a spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security, under which USCIS operates, said that the agency “has lifted the adjudicative hold for thoroughly screened asylum seekers from non-high-risk countries. This move allows resources to focus on continued rigorous national security and public safety vetting for higher-risk cases.”
Legal Challenge
USCIS’s actions have faced legal challenges. In a March 5 statement, legal organization Democracy Forward said a coalition of immigration service groups and labor unions filed a lawsuit challenging USCIS’s “discriminatory policies,” including the halt on asylum adjudications.
Due to the agency’s policies, “asylum applications are at a standstill, work permits and other benefits are being halted for individuals from 39 countries under the misguided logic of the travel ban, and legal permanent residents are in the process of being revetted,” said Anisa Rahim, legal director of the South Asian American Justice Collaborative.
“For communities seeking safety or stability in the United States, these policies push families into uncertainty and undermine the fairness our immigration system is supposed to uphold.”
“These goals will be pursued with the aim of achieving a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations,” Trump said at the time.
According to a Feb. 2 update from the Department of State, it has fully suspended visa issuance to nationals of 19 countries, and to individuals traveling using travel documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority.
The 19 nations are Afghanistan, Burma, Burkina Faso, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
The State Department has partially suspended visa issuance to nationals of 20 countries, which affects Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Côte D’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, the Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
