After months of effectively shutting down the asylum system, the Trump administration is starting to reopen the pipeline — selectively.
The Trump administration is scaling back a sweeping asylum crackdown that had halted hundreds of thousands of immigration cases, according to two Department of Homeland Security officials.
In late November, following the fatal shooting of a National Guard member in Washington, D.C., allegedly by an Afghan man granted asylum in 2025, officials imposed an indefinite pause on asylum applications handled by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The move applied to all applicants, regardless of nationality, and marked an unprecedented halt to the asylum system outside immigration courts.
The administration has now decided to lift that pause for most applicants, the officials said, except for those from countries subject to a “travel ban” or other heightened immigration restrictions.
The freeze will remain in place for nationals of 39 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela, whose citizens face full or partial entry limits under a proclamation expanded by President Trump in December.
In a statement to CBS News, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that “USCIS has lifted the adjudicative hold for thoroughly screened asylum seekers from non high-risk countries,” adding that resources will be redirected toward “rigorous national security and public safety vetting for higher-risk cases.”
However, the administration continues to suspend other immigration benefits for nationals of the 39 restricted countries, including applications for work permits, green cards and U.S. citizenship.
The asylum pause was part of a broader effort by the administration to tighten the legal immigration system, including proposals to restrict work permits for asylum seekers and reexamine refugee admissions.
Officials say the policies are aimed at addressing fraud and national security concerns, while immigration advocates argue they unfairly penalize individuals following legal pathways.
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