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The Department of Homeland Security is removing asylum interviews to expedite applications for asylum seekers.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on July 27 an interim rule change to reduce the backlog in the asylum system. It will go into effect immediately.

The policy is part of the Trump administration’s initiative to tighten asylum regulations and expedite immigration enforcement.

In its interim rule to be published in the Federal Register on July 28, USCIS wrote that “the asylum system in the United States is facing an unprecedented crisis that is straining its adjudicatory capacity and undermining the timely protection of individuals seeking refuge.”

At the moment, both USCIS and Department of Justice immigration judges adjudicate asylum applications.

USCIS hears asylum applications for immigrants who are not in removal proceedings, while immigration judges decide on those in the removal process.

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Depending on the person’s status, USCIS will typically either adjudicate the application or refer it to an immigration judge, who will review it.

This gives an applicant a second opportunity at asylum.

The new rule allows USCIS to refer asylum applications to immigration judges without first interviewing the applicant.

This would shorten the timeline for asylum officers and immigration judges adjudicating applications.

DHS said that USCIS is implementing the rule to reduce the asylum backlog.

USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said in a statement that asylum seekers have taken advantage of the process.

“For far too long the asylum system has been exploited for purposes of delay and work authorization, not legitimate claims of protection,” he said.

“America’s asylum system exists to protect individuals who genuinely fear persecution and this rule will help ensure that resources are directed to the timely adjudication of those claims instead of to those seeking to use the system as a loophole.”

DHS General Counsel James Percival said in a statement that illegal immigrants use delays to obstruct the immigration system.

“One of the greatest barriers to effective immigration enforcement is intentional delay by illegal aliens and the open borders attorneys who represent them,” he said.

“My office works every day with the immigration components of DHS to improve efficiency and fulfill the president’s mandate. The rule would do just that.”

Despite the interim rule going immediately into effect, USCIS is accepting public comments and will later issue a final rule.

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