Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring joined an amicus brief Tuesday that disputes the Trump administration’s new rules pertaining to asylum seekers’ employment authorization.
The Trump administration announced in June that asylum seekers must wait a year before applying for employment authorization rather than 150 days. Also, the administration eliminated the rule that employment authorization forms be processed in 30 days, according to Herring’s press release.
These new rules will take place on August 25, according to Fox News.
Chad Wolf, who is the secretary of Homeland Security, said that asylum claims have been used by illegal aliens to obtain work authorization” for far too long.
“This abuse of the system is unfair to legitimate asylum seekers, diminishes job opportunities for Americans, & disrespects the rule of law,” Wolf said on Twitter.
For too long, frivolous & fraudulent asylum claims have been used by illegal aliens to obtain work authorization. This abuse of the system is unfair to legitimate asylum seekers, diminishes job opportunities for Americans, & disrespects the rule of law. https://t.co/SLhpNGC23k pic.twitter.com/SNJr8fKaRq
— Acting Secretary Chad Wolf (@DHS_Wolf) June 23, 2020
However, Herring does not see it like this. The attorney general said that “individuals” who come to America have a right to work without waiting long periods of time to provide for their families.
“Most of these asylum seekers have come to the United States to escape dangers in their home countries and provide a better, more stable life for themselves and their families,” Herring said. “Time and again the Trump administration has tried to put policies in place in an attempt to discourage asylum seekers from coming to this country.”
“The United States was built on providing a safe harbor for those seeking refuge and I will not let Trump and his allies undermine that incredibly important mentality,” he added.
The amicus brief, which was filed on August 3, argues that these new rules will impact states and asylum seekers. The brief says these new rules could cost states billions of dollars in tax revenue and limit economic growth, increase health care costs for states and localities, and push asylum seekers into the underground economy.
For this brief, Herring joined the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia; as well as the cities of Albuquerque, NM, Chicago, IL, Los Angeles, CA, Madison, WI, Minneapolis, MN, New York, NY, Oakland, CA, and Seattle, WA; and both Cook County in Illinois and Howard County in Maryland.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of Star News Digital Media. If you have any tips, email Zachery at [email protected]. Follow Zachery on Twitter @zacheryschmidt2.
