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Asylum seekers work authorization class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: A group of four asylum seekers filed a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
- Why: Asylum seekers claim the USCIS unlawfully denies them a work authorization within six months if their application remains pending.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Washington federal court.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unlawfully denies asylum seekers work authorization beyond the time allowed while their asylum and withholding claims are pending, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
A group of four asylum seekers from Mexico, El Salvador and Honduras claim the USCIS denies work authorization for asylum seekers beyond the six month period allowed by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
The asylum seekers claim the inability to obtain work authorization while their status is pending forces them to “rely on the goodwill of others to support themselves and their families” while they await a decision.
“Due to Defendants’ unlawful policies and practices preventing them from qualifying for employment authorization, Plaintiffs and proposed class members are in dire financial straits,” the asylum seekers’ class action states.
Class action alleges ‘asylum EAD clock’ unlawfully prevents asylum seekers from obtaining work authorization
In instances where it is not possible to process an asylum application within six months, asylum seekers have a right, granted by Congress, to obtain an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) if their application has been pending for more than 180 days, according to the asylum class action.
The asylum seekers argue, however, that the USCIS has “adopted uniform nationwide policies and practices to regulate what is referred to as the “asylum EAD clock” and that these practices “unlawfully prevent” asylum applicants who are “otherwise statutorily eligible for work authorization on account of meeting the 180-day mark.”
“Plaintiffs and proposed class members are at Defendants’ mercy as to how Defendants administer the asylum EAD clock because there is no notice requirement and no viable mechanism to challenge when the clock starts, stops or does not restart,” the class action states.
The asylum seekers claim the USCIS is in violation of the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act.
They want to represent a nationwide class of asylum seekers who have had work authorization withheld from them by the USCIS for longer than what is allowed by the INA.
The plaintiffs also demand a jury trial and request declaratory and injunctive relief for themselves and all class members.
A separate class action lawsuit filed against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in February claims the agency unnecessarily holds onto immigrants’ identification documents.
Have you been denied a work authorization after applying for asylum in the United States? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by Matt Adams, Leila Kang and Aaron Korthuis of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and Mary Kenney, Trina Realmuto and Kristin Macleod-Ball of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance.
The Asylum seekers work authorization class action lawsuit is Perez, et al. v. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, et al., Case No. 2:22-cv-00806, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
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