Trump admin to deny work visas for asylum seekers who illegally cross border: report

The Trump administration is planning to issue a rule that would deny work permits to asylum seekers who cross the border illegally or are convicted of a felony, BuzzFeed News reported Wednesday.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) proposal would also significantly delay the work permit application process for eligible candidates.

The permit policy will reportedly be included in a proposed regulation that would only allow those who applied for asylum at a port of entry to be eligible for a work permit.

{mosads}The move would be subject to a public comment period and revisions before taking effect.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported rule change.

Restricting work permits signals a renewed effort by the Trump administration to restrict asylum seekers at the southern border.

In April, President Trump signed a memo directing USCIS to develop proposals to limit work permits for asylum-seekers who crossed the border without authorization.

A USCIS official told The Hill on Tuesday that the agency “plans to propose regulations consistent with” the April memo “that are intended to promote greater accountability in the asylum application process and to deter the fraudulent filing of asylum applications for the purpose of obtaining work authorization.”

The proposed method for doing so would bar hundreds of thousands of immigrants who cross the border without authorization from legally working in the U.S.

Updated 3:05 p.m.