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2.0

DHS adds second layer of review for Palestinian asylum seekers

  1. Original Date Announced

    September 20, 2025

    The Washington Post reports that in an August email, DHS directed officials to divert all affirmative asylum applications from Palestinians to USCIS's quality-assurance office for an additional layer of review. The blanket requirement applies to all individuals of Palestinian identity, regardless of their national origin and is the first of its kind to apply to an entire ethnonational group. In a document dated August 2025, DHS lists other categories for which a quality assurance review is required, including "cases that involve specific determinations about connections to terrorist groups, those that require decisions about acts of persecution that an applicant says were committed under duress and applicants with names that trigger hits in certain security databases." Although the effects of this new policy are not yet certain, since mid-August, Palestinian applicants have not been receiving expected decision dates at the end of their asylum interviews, as is the norm.

    Trump 2.0 [ID #1990]

    2025.09.20 - Under Trump, Palestinians seeking U.S. asylum face new hurdle, documents show - The Washington Post
  2. Effective Date

    August 15, 2025

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To provide information, corrections, or feedback, please email IPTP.feedback@gmail.com