Human Rights First Comment on the Department of Homeland Security’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, “Employment Authorization Reform for Asylum Applicants”
Human Rights First submits this comment in opposition to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) titled “Employment Authorization Reform for Asylum Applicants.” The rule, which proposes to amend regulations governing employment authorization for asylum applicants, is another draconian attempt to punish people seeking asylum and prevent them from working to support themselves and their families while their asylum case is pending. The rule would impose a barrage of changes that would indefinitely deny the right to work for asylum applicants who have not yet applied for initial Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) and make it harder to maintain and renew work authorization for those who already have EADs.
The rule’s provisions include: 1) creating an indefinite pause on the government’s acceptance of new EAD applications for asylum applicants, 2) forcing people to wait a year after filing an asylum application before they can apply for an EAD, more than doubling the current wait time, 3) increasing six-fold the required agency processing times for adjudication of initial EAD applications for asylum applicants, 4) creating sweeping grounds of ineligibility to deny EADs, and 5) allowing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) officers to deny EAD applications for asylum applicants at their sole discretion. Human Rights First urges the agency to withdraw this NPRM in its entirety.
Human Rights First strongly opposes the proposed rule, which would threaten the health, safety, and lives of people seeking protection in the United States. We have witnessed the devastating impact that delays in obtaining work authorization have on our clients, including housing instability and homelessness, inability to afford food and medical care, declining physical and mental health, and other grave consequences. These delays arise from existing laws and regulations, agency error, and the numerous barriers that the U.S. government has imposed to deny people a fair opportunity to apply for asylum and work authorization. If this rule takes effect, it would magnify this reality, cutting off access to work authorization—likely indefinitely—for nearly every asylum applicant seeking an initial EAD on or after the rule’s effective date.
The proposed rule follows numerous efforts by the Trump administration—both during its first and second term—to impose barriers, restrict eligibility, and prolong waiting times, for asylum seekers and other immigrants seeking work authorization. It revives aspects of EAD regulations promulgated by the first Trump administration, which were struck down in federal court. It also creates new barriers to work authorization for asylum seekers, including an indefinite pause on any initial EADs for asylum applicants – a pause the agency callously estimates will last “14 to 173 years, or longer.”
This rule will deny people seeking safety in this country dignity and prevent them from building a stable and secure life after fleeing persecution. It will deprive asylum seekers of access to legal sources of livelihood, pushing many to seek unauthorized work to survive and leaving them vulnerable to exploitation in the employment and housing markets and afraid to seek protection from law enforcement. People seeking asylum have long been a vital part of communities across the United States, making fundamental contributions to all areas of life including medicine, science, and education, and supporting a wide range of businesses. Communities and businesses will suffer widespread consequences due to this rule, with impacts rippling across the entire U.S. economy.
The proposed rule violates Constitutional due process protections, U.S. law, and the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol (the Refugee Convention).
