WASHINGTON, D.C. — New policy moves by the Trump administration have sharply slowed legal immigration processing across the country, with attorneys and advocates warning that the system is on the verge of gridlock. According to reporting from Axios, the administration has paused all asylum decisions, moved to reopen green card and asylum cases processed under President Biden, and threatened to expand the travel-ban list — a combination immigration lawyers say is overwhelming U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
USCIS already had more than 11 million pending cases covering asylum, work permits, family visas, and green cards. The latest actions are expected to grow the backlog significantly, particularly the 1.5 million pending asylum cases now subject to additional scrutiny. Immigration attorneys told Axios the simultaneous changes amount to “effectively shutting down the legal immigration process,” with wait times becoming unpredictable and interviews and citizenship ceremonies canceled for applicants from the 19 countries currently on the travel-ban list.
The administration has also shifted the agency toward a greater enforcement posture. USCIS Director Joseph Edlow has launched a hiring effort for “Homeland Defenders” who will have arrest authority and opened a new vetting center in Atlanta. Officials say the pause allows DHS to re-evaluate applications from individuals in “high-risk countries,” citing national-security concerns.
Attorneys warn that reopening older cases and increasing screening requirements will delay results for all applicants, some of whom already face waits of up to nearly four years for an immigration benefit.
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