Moreover, the regulations require complex and time-consuming legal and fact-based analysis to implement, and are not amenable to fair determination in a purely paper-based adjudication process, especially because asylum applicants often apply for employment authorization without the assistance of counsel.Ī federal court partially enjoined the regulations, holding that they were likely unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act and that DHS had “simply paid lip service” to the devastating economic hardship the rules would inflict on asylum seekers, including the inability to afford the costs of seeking asylum such as hiring legal counsel. By denying work authorization to asylum seekers who enter without inspection, they also violate Article 31 of the Refugee Convention, which prohibits countries from penalizing asylum seekers based on their manner of entry. protection who will ultimately be found eligible for asylum. These barriers punish asylum seekers with valid claims to U.S. Many employers are seeking people who really want to work, we are those people who want to work.” USCIS needs to stop delaying our right to earn a living. As a Nicaraguan asylum seeker and member of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP) explained: “Leaving your home, your studies, and friends behind due to the selfish acts of those who have no appreciation for human life hurts but, being denied the ability to work to provide for your loved ones, hurts even more. The devastating effects of these delays on asylum seekers are clear. The sweeping regulations issued by the Trump administration doubled the already punishingly long wait for asylum seekers to be eligible for work authorization from six months to one year after submitting an asylum application, eliminated rules that required efficient processing of these applications, and barred broad categories of asylum seekers from employment authorization altogether. Joint Letter to DHS Secretary Mayorkas and USCIS Director Jaddou DHS should take immediate action to rescind these regulations and take steps, including by issuing rules, that make the EAD process more efficient and fair.
Instead of rescinding these regulations, to date the Biden administration has continued to implement and defend them in court, subjecting asylum seekers to unbearable wait times to secure employment authorization documents (EADs) and denying many the ability to work altogether. We, the 75 undersigned organizations, write to urge the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to eliminate - rather than continue to embrace - the draconian rules promulgated by the Trump administration that prevent many asylum seekers from earning a livelihood to support themselves and their families while their cases are being decided. Citizenship and Immigration Servicesĭear Secretary Mayorkas and Director Jaddou,