Trump seeks application fee for asylum seekers

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has announced major changes to how Washington approaches asylum cases, introducing a fee for applications and limiting access to work authorizations.

Trump has been vocal about the rising number of asylum cases in the U.S. and this is the latest move by the administration to attempt to curtail the number of people who try to apply for asylum in the country.

In a memo Monday issued to the Attorney General, Trump called for policies to be developed to see through asylum applications within 180 days, set a fee for asylum applications, bar anyone who has entered or attempted to enter the U.S. illegally from getting a work permit before any protection is given.

Trump gave the Attorney General and the head of Homeland Security 90 days to fulfill the policy requests.

"The purpose of this memorandum is to strengthen asylum procedures to safeguard our system against rampant abuse of our asylum process," it read.

The president also made reference to his national emergency declaration, which he used to bypass Congress to get funding for his border wall with Mexico.

"That emergency continues to grow increasingly severe," the memo read.

In March, 92,607 migrants were apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, with the majority being family units.