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Trump Rule Shifts 444K Asylum Cases to Judges, Ends Interviews

7/28/2026

Summary

Story summary

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration issued a rule that transfers up to 444,724 asylum cases from USCIS to immigration judges, ending interviews.
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said the change will stop asylum-system exploitation and speed processing.
Attorney Ira Kurzban and Immigration Lawyers Association executive director Ben Johnson warned the rule could deport asylum seekers without a hearing and would add “sand into the gears” of courts facing a three-million-case backlog.

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Story summary

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration issued a rule that transfers up to 444,724 asylum cases from USCIS to immigration judges, ending interviews.
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said the change will stop asylum-system exploitation and speed processing.
Attorney Ira Kurzban and Immigration Lawyers Association executive director Ben Johnson warned the rule could deport asylum seekers without a hearing and would add “sand into the gears” of courts facing a three-million-case backlog.