New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams is opposing a federal rule that would eliminate interview requirements for immigrants in the asylum process. The rule, USCIS-2026-0199-0001, was enacted on July 28th as an interim measure but is set to be made final pending the public comment period, which closed last night. If made permanent, the USCIS estimates this will lead to 132,167 immigrants being denied an interview annually.
In his public comment registering opposition, Williams argues that that the rule "unjustly eliminates an important part of the asylum process, essentially for reasons of expediency, rather than justice." While noting the need to address the backlog of asylum applications, he contends that reforms to the system should not come at the cost of fairness. He also notes that the Interim Rule will particularly affect those fleeing gender based-violence, who rely on an interview to share crucial context for their claims.
Further excerpts of the submission are below, and the full document can be read here.
"In the past twenty-months I have witnessed the Federal Government’s hostility to immigrants manifest in numerous ways. Reasonable people can disagree on many issues when it comes to who the administration refers to as “illegal” immigrants (which I think is a cruel dehumanizing phrase, and I more compassionately refer to as undocumented). However, I have heard a refrain from conservative-minded people my entire life: they don’t object to all immigration—they are fine with immigrants who “play by the rules” when trying to find a new home in our great country. This administration, however, seems determined to limit to every possible extent how people can do just that—follow the rules. The Interim Rule flies in the face of this refrain—it is a limitation on what was considered following the rules."
"Both U.S. law and the International refugee Convention (a/k/a the Convention Related to the Status of Refugees), to which the U.S. is a signatory, guarantee people the right to seek asylum. Asylum seekers come to our country “to escape violence, persecution, and other human rights abuses in their home countries.” I believe as the world’s richest country, we have a responsibility to take in refugees. The U.S. should be trying to reform the system in ways that are humane and acknowledge that anyone seeking asylum is coming from circumstances that we would not want to live. Instead, the Administration has been attempting to make it as difficult as possible to make an asylum claim and to successfully obtain asylum."
"Reducing the backlog of asylum applications is a worthwhile goal. The system is in great need of reform, however this should be done at the expense of fairness. The USCIS may be correct when it states that this rule will help reduce the backlog of 1.4 million asylum cases. However, even if it is true, this should not be done purely for reasons of expediency—these asylum seekers deserve every opportunity to plead their cases, and, therefore, the elimination of the interview is unjust. Asylum seekers by-and-large just want to play by the rules, the way many, if not most, Americans think they should—the U.S., therefore, should not be changing the rules in the middle of the game."
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