US is weighing asylum denials without interviews — and immigration lawyers are alarmed
Internal documents suggest administration is considering allowing asylum applications to be rejected before a formal hearing
WASHINGTON, United States (MNTV) – U.S. administration officials are reportedly weighing a policy shift that would significantly narrow access to asylum review by allowing certain applications to be denied without an initial interview.
According to internal documents obtained by CBS News, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services would gain authority to reject asylum claims if officers determine the applications were filed more than one year after the applicant entered the U.S. Those affected would be sent directly into deportation proceedings within the immigration court system, bypassing an early-stage assessment that has traditionally served as a key procedural safeguard.
The proposal comes amid broader structural changes to the immigration system during Trump’s second term. Immigration courts have experienced substantial turnover since January 2025, with hundreds of judges reportedly removed, retired, or departing. More than 140 new judges have been appointed, many with limited prior immigration law experience and shorter training periods than their predecessors — changes that legal professionals warn risk undermining consistency and expertise in a system already carrying heavy caseloads.
Procedural adjustments within the Justice Department’s immigration apparatus have compounded those concerns. A Washington Post report from April described internal guidance from the Board of Immigration Appeals encouraging stricter standards for bond hearings and increased case dismissals at government request, contributing to higher detention levels and fewer opportunities for release while cases proceed.
Data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse points to a sharp rise in asylum denials — exceeding 82,000 in the last fiscal year — while approval rates fell below 5 percent in February, compared with significantly higher rates the previous year. Officials attribute the trend to a backlog exceeding one million cases and argue that procedural reforms are necessary to restore efficiency.
A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesperson defended the proposal as a pragmatic response to system overload, stating that it would reduce time spent on claims likely to be referred to immigration courts in any case and ensure those claims are ultimately heard by judges. Legal advocates, however, argue that the logic effectively shifts decision-making away from initial screening interviews and places vulnerable applicants into adversarial proceedings without a meaningful opportunity to present their circumstances first.
Representatives of asylum seeker organisations warn that the proposed change could fundamentally alter due process expectations in asylum law, arguing that long-pending cases and complex migration histories require individualised assessment — and that accelerating denial pathways prioritises administrative efficiency over the fair evaluation of protection claims.
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
