Public comment: Oppose DHS proposal to bar asylum applicants from receiving work permits. Deadline - Jan 13
DHS is proposing a rule that would bar asylum applicants who are applying for a work permit for the first time and for applicants who are renewing their work permit while their asylum application is pending with the Asylum Office or the Immigration Courts if they file their asylum application more than one year after their last entry into the United States, did not enter through an official entry point, or have certain criminal convictions (including an offense related to a DUI).
This will have a very large impact on asylum applicants who currently are allowed to work, along with the businesses that employ them. Please submit a comment before January 13, 2019! See below and the attached word documents for more information.
Please comment directly on the proposed change with your own original comment in your own words. Well-informed, original public comment can help stop bad policy—the administration must address every point made, and arguments made and facts cited in public comments can be cited in court briefs. Public comment works—let’s keep doing it!
Suggested Arguments/Talking Points
If you or your organization works directly with asylum seekers, it would be particularly helpful to:
describe (anonymized) real examples and stories of clients that illustrate the potential impact of the proposed regulation (e.g., “Client Jane Doe, an asylum seeker who fled persecution in her home country of Guatemala, has two minor children and an elderly parent to support, but her family is now struggling because she is unable to obtain legal employment. If she had to wait a year before being able to apply for an EAD, she would not be able to provide sufficient food and clothing for her children”; “Client X is an asylum seeker living with [a chronic disease or a disability] and without an EAD, he has been unable to obtain the employment he needs to access healthcare and his condition has worsened significantly”). The more detail you can provide the better; and/or
Describe, quantitatively if possible, the impact the Rule could have on your organization’s work (e.g., “if every asylum seeker taking a plea deal is likely to be categorically excluded from work authorization, my public defender organization will need to spend substantially more time with our asylum seeker clients to discuss collateral consequences of even non-criminal convictions, and our asylum seekers will be more likely to reject plea deals and take cases to trial, causing an increase in our caseloads and we may need to hire immigration attorneys.”).
The above are just examples - if there are other specific negative impacts you anticipate, please describe those too!
If you or your business employs asylum seekers, it would particularly helpful to discuss the following points:
My organization employs asylum seekers, and it would be difficult and costly to find replacement labor for their positions in light of their specialized skills, experience, etc.
If my organization were unable to employ asylum seekers, we would lose [estimated amount of money, or “a significant amount”] in profits and other costs.
Our asylum-seeking employees are an important part of the workplace culture and the community that enable my organization to thrive. Losing them as part of our workforce will impact company morale and the overall well-being of the business.
Impact on Asylum Seekers
The proposed categorical bars to eligibility for employment authorization include minor offenses that are not crimes under state law. Some asylum seekers who will ultimately be granted asylum will be unable to receive employment authorization for the pendency of their asylum cases, which could take many years. Some asylum seekers who are currently working will be unable to renew their employment authorization and will likely lose their jobs and forcing them into the shadow economy to financially support themselves and their families.
Asylum seekers may be faced with an untenable choice: take a plea deal to ensure they remain asylum-eligible but that renders them ineligible for employment authorization or go to trial to try to preserve their employment eligibility but become ineligible for asylum (and work authorization) if they lose.
Impact on Public Defender Organizations and Criminal Defense Attorneys
Criminal attorneys advising asylum seekers about the collateral consequences of criminal convictions (and open criminal cases more generally) will need to advise their clients about the consequences of accepting plea deals in their criminal cases on their ability to receive work authorization. This will require them not only to be familiar with any changed regulations but also to stay abreast of case-by-case USCIS adjudications, given that part of the final rule proposes increasing the exercise of discretion with respect to pending and unresolved criminal cases.
Impact on Federal, State, and Local Criminal Courts
Asylum seekers are more likely to reject plea deals because nearly any conviction will render them ineligible to work, increasing the burden on the criminal justice system by increasing the number of pending criminal cases and the number of cases that go to trial.
Impact on Businesses
Companies that currently hire asylum seekers may lose their employees who are unable to renew their existing work authorization, with the attendant loss of skills, knowledge, and experience. Such employers and other companies that would otherwise hire asylum seekers will be unable to rely on asylum seekers to fill their employment needs. The net result will likely be substantial lost profits and productivity.