Anonymous3 days ago
The Trump administration partially lifted its blanket asylum adjudication freeze on March 30, 2026, resuming processing for applicants from countries not on its expanded travel ban list — but nationals of 39 nations, mostly in Africa and the Middle East, remain indefinitely locked out. The move affects roughly 4 million pending USCIS asylum cases and comes four months after the administration halted all asylum decisions following the fatal shooting of a National Guard member in Washington, D.C. by an Afghan asylum recipient, raising questions about whether the partial lift represents meaningful policy reform or political recalibration ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.