There are probably 4+ million asylum seekers in the United States. These are people who filed an application for asylum, form I-589, with the USCIS Asylum Office or with the Immigration Court, and their dependents. Under the new Trump Administration, are such people safe from detention and deportation by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)?
The short answer seems to be: Mostly.
Here, we’ll discuss what protections asylum seekers have and what you can do to be ready if you encounter an ICE agent.
The first thing to know, I think, is that the new Administration believes it has a mandate to detain and deport “illegals,” and it is executing high-profile immigration raids in order to demonstrate its commitment to this policy and to frighten non-citizens and their family members. As I see it, this is a form of legal terrorism–they are detaining a few people with the intention of terrorizing the many who are here without permanent status. Sadly (and understandably), this strategy is working, as immigrant and minority communities are on edge.
However, it is important to keep ICE’s efforts in perspective. There are at least 11.7 million people in the United States who have no status or who have a temporary status or an application pending. Even if ICE could detain 1,500 people per day, as the President hopes (and which is far above the current average of five or six hundred per day), it would take more than 21 years to encounter all 11.7 million people. So while the raids are frightening, the odds of any one person (especially a person who is law abiding) actually being detained is quote low.
Indeed, if you must know, and if my math is accurate (a big “if”), and if ICE is actually able to detain 1,500 people every day (an even bigger “if”), then the odds of any one individual being detained by ICE is about 4.7% per year.
For asylum seekers, even if they encounter an ICE agent, they are not subject to deportation and cannot legally be removed from the United States–at least not until their asylum application is adjudicated. All non-citizens are required to carry proof of their status, and for asylum seekers, that would be the asylum receipt and/or the biometric receipt, the work permit (which shows category c-8, asylum pending), passport, and state ID or driver’s license. For dependent asylum seekers, they can also carry proof of the dependent relationship–for a spouse, a copy of the marriage certificate, and for a child, a copy of their birth certificate.
At this point, there is no indication that ICE is taking asylum seekers into custody, and given that these people are not a priority, it seems unlikely that they will be targeted for detention while their asylum cases are pending (though asylum seekers who commit crimes would likely be detained). So if you have your documentation of pending status and you are law abiding, you are probably safe from ICE.
But let’s say you do encounter an ICE agent or a police officer inquiring about your immigration status (depending on the state or locality, some police officers may ask about immigration status). What do you do?
First, remain calm. Don’t argue or fight, or try to run away.
If you are not a U.S. citizen, you are required to show your documents to ICE. However, you are not required to answer questions about where you were born, your immigration status or how you entered the United States, and you have the right to remain silent. You can ask to talk with your lawyer (though unlike in a criminal arrest, the government does not provide a lawyer if you cannot afford one). If you have a lawyer, make sure you know the lawyer’s contact information and the contact information for a trusted family member or friend who you can call.
If you are stopped by state or local police, as opposed to ICE, you are not required to disclose your immigration status and you can exercise your right to remain silent, though in some states, you must provide the police with your name.
For asylum seekers, the best approach may simply be to give the ICE agent or police officer proof of your pending case, which demonstrates that you are lawfully present in the country. As long as you are reporting to Immigration Court, the Asylum Office or any other appointment, there is no reason to detain you, and you cannot be deported until after your case is decided.
For more information about how to prepare and what to do if you are questioned by ICE, the ACLU has a helpful Know Your Rights page that is worth a look.
The prospect of being questioned or detained by ICE or the police is frightening. But keep in mind that asylum seekers have rights, including the right to have your asylum case adjudicated before you can be removed from the country. Also keep in mind that the odds of encountering ICE are low, and the odds of being detained are even lower.
The new Administration has ushered in difficult times. But it is important to keep the threat in perspective, and to go on with your life. As the saying goes, living well (or maybe just living) is the best revenge.
Hi Jason,
Thank you very much for the article. You’re always around to provide some peace to people during difficult times. I have a question. I am a green card holder based on an asylum and I travel back and forth to Mexico (I am not a Mexican) to study. I have a temporary Mexican residency card provided by my school. I applied to get an RTD more than 6 months ago and yet to be issued.
Is there any new risk can be added by Trump’s executive orders on my case.
Thank you
It sounds like you may not even be using your passport to travel back and forth between the two countries. If so, I do not see any issue. If you are using your passport, I suppose you could be asked why you are using a passport from a country that seeks to persecute you. I wrote more about this issue on May 25, 2022. If you fear terrorists or other non-state actors, this is easier to explain. Even if you fear the government, I doubt using your passport will cause problems, but it would be safer to use the RTD (which unfortunately, takes forever to get and is only good for a year – thus forcing people to use the passport or forego travel). Take care, Jason
Very nice arricle, that is what I concluded after self reflecting for few days after January 20th, keep calm and wait for any update
Meanwhile I’ve two questions to you Jason,
1. Is it advisable to send email inquiry to uscis right now as the new administration is anti-immigrant and might be pissed of for bothering them!
2. I know most people with pending asylum cases are working and paying taxes. From my experience some one without Green Card can’t get food stamp or housing assistance or medicaid/medicare or social security. But since the Texas governer start busing people to Democrat conteolled cities in 2022 everything has been messed up. From my knowledge no state gives any benefit to asylum seekers unless they get permanent resident (you may correct me if I am wrong). So my question is what if the Trump administration restrict renewal of work permit for pending cases? That will be brutal abd most asylum seeker will be on street or start working under table which is very troublesome for both the person and the government (they they pay taxes the government might lose money). Any thought on this (resteiction of work permit for pending cases)
I actually am worried about this as well…
1 – I don’t think that is a worry, but I am not sure it will help. If you are referring to the asylum office, at least you can normally email them and sometimes they respond. 2 – One of the executive orders seemed to imply that they might not allow people who entered the US unlawfully to get work permits, but that is all I have heard so far. Whether they will try to block asylum seekers from getting work permits, we will have to wait and see. I do think such a move could be challenged in court, though ultimately, maybe they could get rid of work permits. This would, of course, cause the problems you mention, but I do not see that they care about bad policy; they only want to cause people pain in an effort to get them to leave. Take care, Jason
If I don’t have a work permit…how can I have a career ?
I am so much more than just an asylum seeker…
Ideas ?
If you are an asylum seeker and are eligible, you should apply for the work permit as soon as possible, just in case the Administration moves to change the rules. Take care, Jason
The question is…can the administration revoke all existing EADs of an affirmative non-interviewed asylun seeker ?
I guess and let me be specific, I want to ask. If a person is in the process of seeking asylum. Assuming he is denied on all levels, but he keeps on timely appealing to the higher level. Would it be possible for the trump administration to revoke this asylum seeker’s existing, issued, active EAD ?
Hello Jason,
Is their any impact on processing renewal for EAD? I had my 180’days on January 17th, so I applied for renewal (4th or 5th time) on January 19th, right before the inauguration. Would they still keep processing this type of requests? Or would Mr. President stop this process as well?
Thank you.
So far as I know, they are still processing EADs. Hopefully, that will continue, but the president probably does have authority to end or limit EADs. Take care, Jason
How could a person without job survive…
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5113897-trump-guantanamo-bay-migrants/
President Trump said he is signing an executive order on Wednesday to prepare a massive facility at Guantánamo Bay to be used to house deported migrants.
The order will direct the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security to prepare a 30,000-person migrant facility at Guantánamo Bay, a facility in Cuba that has been used to house military prisoners, including several involved in the 9/11 attacks.
I am guessing that this path we are on will not end well – not for immigrants of course, but also not for any of us, including Trump supporters. Also, by the way, while 30,000 is a big number, it is only enough bed space to hold less than 0.3% of all the people Trump views as “illegal.” Take care, Jason
Hi Jason
I know your post is about pending asylum. However there are many people here who are prior immigrants and now US citizens. Some of us might be in mixed status families. You say that an “ If you are not a U.S. citizen, you are required to show your documents to ICE“. What about a US Citizen? What if one is detained based on “suspicious looks” and demanded documentation? Are we allowed to refuse, remain silent and ask to be left alone? How will that work practically? As you know most of us don’t carry our passports or NCs with us.
It’s a good question. You are not required to show your papers, but if you look “foreign,” they could ask. It may not hurt to keep a photo of your US passport or Naturalization Certificate on your phone, so at least you can show that. It is incredibly unfair and awful, but it may be worth having that info available (at least in digital form) so you can avoid any potential issues. Take care, Jason
My understanding is that you will waste their time and they will waste your time. If you are a USC, it would be better to comply and provide required documents.
Techincally, if they have no probable cause, they cannot arrest you. “Suspicious looks” is not a probable cause. Some “auditors” live on this by suing LEs for wrongful arrest/detentions but avaerage joes might not have that kind of time, energy, legal knowledge and money to do that. You can also search up “(internal) BP checkpoint refusals” for reference. I think most people filming that are USCs and they got detained for an hour or more but BP eventually let them go.
Remeber you have to be 100% legal in every aspect to do that. It’s really easy to commit a crime such as dark window tint or fail to use a turn signal. If they get mad, they may call the local PD on you.
Hi Jason,
Thanks so much for all the informative articles on this devastating mess. I have a question. I am preparing to apply for asylum and am currently on TPS. My younger sister is potentially applying for a F1 visa for the coming fall semester. Will my asylum application negatively impact my sister’s visa application? I found some information online saying it may affect on my sister’s visa process.
For more context, my TPS is expiring in November this year too and I think I do have solid grounds for asylum; so I don’t want to delay applying for it in case the TPS system gets gutted (my country of origin is not from Latin America; so I guess TPS for my country doesn’t seem too at risk, compared to our brothers and sisters from Latin America).
But all in all, I don’t want to feel vulnerable in case things go south and I can’t return home either at the moment. But at the same time, don’t want to jeopardize my sister’s chance to study if possible.
Thank you for all that you do for this community!
When you apply for an F-1 visa, you have to show that you will return to your country (or at least leave the US at the end of your studies). Usually, a sibling is not so affected by their sibling’s asylum case, since they cannot join that case. However, at the embassy, they do often ask about relatives in the US, and if they know you have TPS or are seeking asylum, it may make it more difficult for her to get a visa. Maybe if you can hold off for a bit and let her apply, that would be better, but if it will take a long time for her to apply, you might not want to wait that long. I guess I do not know whether your asylum application will make it any harder for her, but it certainly won’t help, and so if she can apply first, that is probably better, just in case your application affects her. Take care, Jason