DHS Rule Lets Officers Send Asylum Cases Straight to Immigration Judges Without Ever Interviewing the Applicant

The Department of Homeland Security announced an interim final rule on July 27, 2026 that allows U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to refer certain affirmative asylum applications to immigration judges without first interviewing the applicant. The rule, which took effect the next day and carries a public comment period, covers applications DHS considers barred by the one-year filing deadline or ineligible on the merits. DHS estimates more than 132,000 cases a year could be transferred, and the Federal Register notice says 31% of the roughly 1.4 million-case USCIS backlog could be affected. USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said the asylum system "has been exploited for purposes of delay and work authorization, not legitimate claims of protection."

The change moves cases from an administrative adjudication toward the removal docket, where outcomes have shifted sharply. According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, immigration judges denied 62% of asylum cases in January 2025 and 94% in June 2026. USCIS itself denied 61% of the petitions it decided in fiscal 2025 and 78% in the first quarter of this year.

Vanessa Dojaquez-Torres of HIAS said the rule "helps design a potential process where asylum seekers never once get to speak to any government official about their claim." The rule is subject to a 60-day comment period and has not yet been challenged in court as of July 30.