Biden Administration's Policies Cause The Affirmative Asylum Backlog To Double In Just Two Years

The Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman reported recently that USCIS's affirmative asylum backlog has grown to 842,000 cases, doubling in just two years, with application processing times now "Likely nearing a decade".

When combining the number of affirmative and defensive asylum cases, the total U.S. asylum backlog stands at approximately 1.6 million cases, the highest on record.

While the most recent reporting indicates that the affirmative asylum backlog stands at approximately 842,000 pending cases, USCIS projects the affirmative backlog will exceed one million cases by the end of calendar year 2024.

Because parole only provides temporary authorization to remain in the United States, aliens who have been granted parole under one of these new programs and who wish to receive asylum in the United States must file their claims affirmatively with USCIS. Even the USCIS Ombudsman, in its 2023 report, specifically acknowledged that the creation of the programs has resulted in higher volumes of affirmative asylum filings and concluded that the USCIS Asylum Division "Does not have the capacity for additional prioritization of asylum applications filed by all noncitizens paroled into the United States" under these new programs.

With affirmative asylum application processing times nearing 10 years, the submission of an affirmative asylum application could provide a serious benefit to even those applicants with weak claims.

Third, the Biden administration's asylum processing interim final rule is designed to transfer more asylum cases from DOJ's jurisdiction to USCIS. The regulation, titled "Procedures for Credible Fear Screening and Consideration of Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and CAT Protection Claims by Asylum Officers", allows asylum officers to make final asylum decisions for claims submitted defensively in the credible fear process.

Since 2021, USCIS has been forced to surge resources to the U.S.-Mexico border, which has primarily involved transferring asylum officers who typically handle affirmative asylum cases to instead conduct credible fear screenings for recent border-crossers.

https://cis.org/Jacobs/Biden-Administrations-Policies-Cause-Affirmative-Asylum-Backlog-Double-Just-Two-Years