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Against the backdrop of broad changes to US immigration enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security has issued guidance directing its attorneys to seek early dismissal of asylum applications they judge to be legally insufficient.
The directive, effective immediately and first reported by Fox News Digital, instructs attorneys within ICE's Office of the Principal Legal Advisor to file motions to pretermit in immigration court when they determine an application fails to meet the legal standard on its face.
A motion to pretermit asks an immigration judge to deny a claim before a full merits hearing, on the argument that the application is legally deficient and does not warrant evidentiary review.
Immigration judges retain the authority to grant or deny those motions; the government cannot unilaterally dismiss a case.
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