The recent proposal by the White House to increase the time that asylum seekers have to wait to get a work permit caused an immediate reaction.
The proposal, announced by Ken Cuccinelli, acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, would increase the time asylum seekers would have to wait to get a work permit, after filing a formal application, from 150 days to 365 days.
Cuccinelli commented that the current system was causing “delays for legitimate asylum seekers in need of humanitarian protection.” As the Press Herald has reported, Rep. Chellie Pingree and Sen. Angus King, along with local officials, were quick to criticize the proposed rule.
Thomas D. Homan, former director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, testified last month to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee: “Even though over 85 percent of all Central Americans that arrive at our border claim fear, less than 10 to 15 percent get relief from our courts.” He also said those rates have changed little since 2015, and also testified that only about 1.6 percent of those denied asylum actually leave the country.
Taking in asylum seekers may seem to be the compassionate thing to do, but unrestricted entry is difficult to justify considering the low approval rate and the disruption to an already overloaded immigration system.
Robert Casimiro
Bridgton
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