U.S. Asylum System Facing Rampant ‘Fraud and Abuse’ from Illegals

Homeland Security has reached a “crisis” in the asylum system with illegal immigrants gaming the system, the department said Wednesday, announcing new changes to try to speed things up so undeserving applicants can be deported.

The backlog reached 311,000 cases as of Jan. 21, “making the system increasingly vulnerable to fraud and abuse,” said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency within Homeland Security that handles legal immigration.

To try to make headway, USCIS said it will prioritize the latest applications for the fastest review.

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Analysts say prioritizing new applications for fastest review is a way of speeding up deportations for those who don’t qualify for asylum. If those back home see people being turned away for frivolous requests, they may decline to make the journey in the first place.

The move is the sort of executive action President Trump can make on his own, without Congress, to try to change the incentives that are feeding the new wave of illegal immigration.

Those who are applying for asylum are granted work permits, giving them a foothold in the U.S. while they await cases that can take years to complete.

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The asylum program has become strained in recent years as illegal immigrants, coached by smuggling cartels and relatives who’ve already made it to the U.S., have learned the “magic words” to game the system.

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