The ability to seek asylum has been part of U.S. law since 1980 and is outlined under Article 14 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. So, allowing people to seek refuge in the United States is a human right we’ve committed to.
Before we get into how this right will be harder to claim, what exactly is asylum? It’s a form of legal protection that host countries grant to migrants who are fleeing harm or who fear persecution in their place of origin. According to international law, a claim of persecution must be made based on one of five protected grounds: race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. In order for migrants to seek asylum in the United States, they have to apply for it within the country, or at one of 328 official ports of entry.
In the first 100 days, the Trump administration has essentially eliminated all opportunities for immigrants to enter the U.S. seeking asylum. In January, President Trump issued an Executive Order suspending the refugee program as well as the asylum applications process through the southern U.S. border, which mainly happened through the clunky app CPB One that the Biden administration launched last year. This means that immigrants who came to the U.S. already under programs from the last administration are now potentially vulnerable to detention and deportation.
The Trump administration also froze funds for groups working with refugees to help them resettle here amid a broader push to review federal funding for aid organizations and other “DEI” initiatives. To add to the crackdown on legal immigration, the Trump administration directed judges within the Justice Department’s system of immigration courts to fast-track certain asylum rejections without a hearing.
All of these measures mark a break with a decades-long U.S. commitment to admitting refugees; the U.S. has admitted an average of about 73,000 refugees annually between 1975 and 2024. Without a clear process to apply for asylum, and the legal limbo those who are in process are now facing, it is harder than ever to access asylum in the United States.
Sources
NPR: https://www.npr.org/2025/04/30/g-s1-63415/top-5-immigration-changes-trump-first-100-days
Brookings: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/100-days-of-immigration-under-the-second-trump-administration/
National Immigration Forum: https://immigrationforum.org/article/the-first-100-days-of-the-second-trump-administration-key-immigration-related-actions-and-developments/
Council on Foreign Relations: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/how-us-asylum-process-works
