Trump Administration Seeks to Delay Asylum Seekers From Obtaining Work Permits

By Shani Saxon Sep 09, 2019

Asylum seekers looking to work in the United States could find themselves waiting longer than usual to get approval. Currently, asylum seekers are required to wait 150 days before they are eligible to apply for a work permit, then another 30 days while the application is processed. But on Friday (September 6), the Trump administration proposed legislation that would do away with the 30-day processing deadline, allowing immigration officials to take as long as they want to consider applications, Axios reports.

“This proposal allows us to conduct the kind of systematic vetting and identity verification procedures expected of an agency charged with protecting national security,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli told Axios. 

However, immigration reform nonprofit America's Voice's Ur Jaddou told the news outlet that this type of proposal is not surprising coming from the Trump administration: “Under this administration, it’s more excuse to not worry about processing faster."