The Trump administration has initiated a policy change allowing immigration judges to dismiss “legally deficient asylum cases” without conducting a hearing. This alteration was outlined in an April 11 memo distributed to the staff of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), a Justice Department subdivision responsible for resolving deportation cases.
The new directive permits judges to determine eligibility for asylum solely based on the information provided in complex asylum request forms, without the need for a hearing. This policy shift is part of the administration’s broader effort to increase arrests and deportations of individuals without permanent legal status in the United States. However, the immigration court system faces a significant backlog, with experts noting a historical lack of adequate funding and resources.
According to acting Director Sirce Owen, EOIR adjudicators must manage their dockets efficiently. Owen emphasized the necessity of this by pointing to the nearly 4 million pending cases on EOIR’s docket at the end of 2024, including about 1.5 million asylum cases.
Kathleen Bush-Joseph, an immigration policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, stated that this memo represents a return to the approaches of Trump’s first administration, which included directives that restricted asylum approvals and imposed quotas on judges to expedite case decisions.
The policy memo further clarifies that adjudicators are encouraged to promptly resolve cases with no viable legal paths for relief or protection from removal. Previously, judges could take more time for hearings, gathering necessary information for applications lacking key details. The directive aims to increase the number of deportation orders before individuals can have a “merits hearing” to present their case in court.
This push to expedite case resolutions coincides with a recent layoff of over 100 EOIR personnel, including judges, lawyers, and interpreters. Trump has also suspended asylum applications for those entering through the southern U.S. border, although the suspension does not apply to asylum requests already filed or for those from other regions.
Asylum is a long-established part of U.S. law, designed to protect individuals at risk of persecution. However, Ben Johnson, executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, noted that the asylum process is often misunderstood. Typically, applications are assessed based on the form, questioning, and review of circumstances, but he now anticipates an increased rate of case terminations.
Johnson and Bush-Joseph highlighted that many applicants may lack legal representation, impairing their applications due to language and legal system barriers. Without legal aid, applicants may not fully understand their rights and options.
Asylum cases traditionally require significant time to prepare and adjudicate, with the American Immigration Lawyers Association estimating 50 to 75 hours of preparation by an experienced attorney. On average, applicants wait over four years for a decision. According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, the asylum backlog increased by approximately 8% in early 2023.
Johnson emphasized the critical stakes of these cases, noting that errors in judgment could result in returning individuals to environments where they face persecution, underscoring the life-and-death implications of asylum decisions.
