Last updated on June 1, 2021
ASAP members: Last year, with your help, ASAP filed a lawsuit to stop new rules limiting asylum seekers’ ability to work — and won! The name of the lawsuit is CASA v. Mayorkas. (Previously, the case was called CASA v. Wolf.)
Here are the latest updates about CASA v. Mayorkas and ASAP members’ rights:
June 2021 Updates
Good news: the CASA v. Mayorkas lawsuit will continue moving toward a final decision!
As we shared in last month’s update (below), ASAP asked the court in CASA v. Mayorkas to make a final decision and declare all of the Trump Administration’s work permit rules unlawful. The government does not want the court to make a final decision about whether the Trump rules are illegal. With help from ASAP members, ASAP explained to the court that it was important not to delay moving forward, and the court agreed with us!
The court gave the government and ASAP specific deadlines for filing multiple written arguments. Each side will use the written arguments to try to convince the court that it should win the lawsuit. The government will submit its final written arguments on July 13. ASAP will file our final written arguments on July 27. The court will reach a final decision after it reviews the arguments of both sides. In the meantime, ASAP members will continue to have the same rights under the court’s order in CASA v. Mayorkas that they had before.
Even though we cannot predict what the court will decide, ASAP members have good reasons to be optimistic. We have strong arguments that the Trump rules are illegal. Whatever happens, ASAP and ASAP members will keep fighting to protect the ability to work for all asylum seekers!
In another lawsuit called Rosario, the court ordered the government to report how quickly it was processing ASAP members’ initial work permit applications.
As we shared in April’s update (below), through another lawsuit known as Rosario, ASAP members recently complained that the government was illegally taking longer than 30 days to process their initial work permit applications.
On May 28, 2021, the court in Rosario issued an order. Unfortunately, the court refused to order the government to fix the delays by a specific date. However, the court did order the government to report exactly how many ASAP and CASA members’ initial work permit applications it was processing within 30 days—and how many of these applications it was illegally taking longer than 30 days to process. The court ordered the government to give it these reports once a month for the next four months. This way, the court will know whether the government is actually improving, or whether the court needs to order the government to do better.
We hope that these reports will keep pushing the government to respect the rights of ASAP members and process their initial work permit applications within 30 days. If you are an ASAP member and the government has not processed your initial work permit application within 30 days, click here for information on how you can demand your rights under the Rosario lawsuit.
May 2021 Updates
Currently, the court’s order protects ASAP members from some new work permit rules.
Last year, in the CASA v. Mayorkas lawsuit, ASAP asked a federal court to stop new rules from the Trump Administration that made it harder for asylum seekers to get work permits. In September 2020, at an early stage of the lawsuit, the court ordered the government to stop applying parts of the new rules to members of ASAP. This type of early court order is called a “preliminary injunction.”
Since the court’s order, the lawsuit has continued to move forward. For more information on ASAP members’ rights under the court’s order, click here.
In April, ASAP asked the court to protect more asylum seekers’ ability to work—not just ASAP members.
On April 20, 2021, ASAP asked the court to expand the current order (the “preliminary injunction”). With help from ASAP members, ASAP explained that the new work permit rules are still harming many asylum seekers. Right now, the court’s order only protects members of ASAP and another organization called CASA. ASAP asked the court to protect all asylum seekers from the new rules, regardless of whether they are members of ASAP or CASA.
ASAP also asked the court to block more parts of the new work permit rules.
ASAP also asked the court to expand the current order to stop the government from using any part of the new work permit rules. Right now, the government is still using some parts of the new rules to deny work permits for asylum seekers, including ASAP members. For example, the government can deny work permits to asylum seekers who have been convicted of certain crimes, even if they are ASAP members. The government can also deny work permits to some asylum seekers who crossed the Mexico-United States border after August 25, 2020, even if they are ASAP members. ASAP asked the court to block these parts of the new rules, too.
ASAP asked the court to make a final decision in the lawsuit.
On April 20, 2021, ASAP also asked the court to make a final decision in the lawsuit. We asked the court to declare that all of the new work permit rules are illegal for all asylum seekers. If the court agrees, the lawsuit will end and the new rules will be invalidated. That means that asylum seekers will apply for work permits under the old rules instead. This would be even better than expanding the current order (the “preliminary injunction”) because it would be final!
However, the government disagreed with ASAP’s request and asked the court not to make a final decision about whether the new rules are illegal. The Biden Administration says it might change the rules, which were created by the Trump Administration, so the court does not need to make a final decision.
ASAP asked the court to make a final decision anyway, because it will take months (or maybe even years) for the Biden Administration to change these harmful new rules without a court decision.
Even if the court is not ready to make a final decision and end the case now, ASAP will keep pushing to expand the court’s order (the “preliminary injunction”), as we explained above.
We are still waiting on a decision from the court on these requests.
The court has not decided whether it will make a final decision in the case, or whether it will expand the current order (the “preliminary injunction”) to protect more asylum seekers. The court has asked ASAP and the government to give it more information so it can decide how the case will move forward on May 14, 2021. We will keep you updated when we have more information. Whatever happens, ASAP and ASAP members will keep fighting to protect the ability to work for all asylum seekers!
Through another lawsuit, ASAP members continue to fight delays in processing their work permit applications.
Through another lawsuit known as Rosario, ASAP members are continuing to take steps to protect their rights. As we explained in last month’s update (below), ASAP members complained to the court in the Rosario lawsuit that the government was illegally taking longer than 30 days to process their initial work permit applications. Since then, the government has responded to these complaints and has said it is working to fix the delays. ASAP members are waiting for the court in the Rosario lawsuit to make a decision about the next steps.
We hope that the Rosario lawsuit will keep pushing the government to respect the rights of ASAP members and process their initial work permit applications within 30 days! If you are an ASAP member and the government has not processed your initial work permit application within 30 days, click here for information on how you can demand your rights under the Rosario lawsuit.
April 2021 Updates
ASAP members and other asylum seekers are holding the government accountable in court.
In last month’s update, we shared how ASAP members took action to protect their rights under the CASA v. Mayorkas lawsuit. After thousands of ASAP members came forward to report that the government was illegally taking longer than 30 days to process their initial work permit applications, the government finally admitted that this was a widespread problem, and it promised to fix the delays by the end of May.
Two weeks ago, in a different federal lawsuit called Rosario v. USCIS, ASAP members and other asylum seekers took another big step to hold the government accountable. (Rosario is a lawsuit brought on behalf of all asylum seekers applying for their first work permits and experiencing delays. This type of lawsuit is called a “class action lawsuit,” and the asylum seekers are called the “Rosario class.” ASAP members whose applications for their first work permits are delayed are members of the Rosario class.)
On March 25, members of the Rosario class complained to the court overseeing that lawsuit that the government was violating members’ rights by taking longer than 30 days to process their initial work permit applications. Based on the widespread reports from ASAP members, ASAP submitted evidence to the court showing that many ASAP members had experienced delays in their initial work permit applications, and that ASAP members had difficulty contacting the government about the delays. Using this evidence, the Rosario class asked the court to order the government to fix the delays. The government will respond next week.
This new step in the Rosario lawsuit will put even more pressure on the government to respect ASAP members’ rights and process ASAP members’ work permit applications within 30 days!
ASAP updated its instructions on how you can apply for a work permit as an ASAP member.
Last week, ASAP updated its website to provide new, more detailed instructions on how you can apply for a work permit as an ASAP member. To read these instructions and see a sample work permit application from an ASAP member, go here.
In addition, if you have a lawyer helping you apply for a work permit as an ASAP member, you can send them a one-page guide for lawyers available here.
Great news: After the Trump Administration appealed the court’s order in CASA v. Mayorkas in November, the Biden Administration withdrew the appeal last month!
Last fall, the Trump Administration appealed the court’s order in CASA v. Mayorkas to a higher court (also known as a “court of appeals”). The government asked the court of appeals to reverse the lower court’s order so that the government could take as long as it wanted to process ASAP members’ applications for their first work permits, charge ASAP members an $85 biometrics fee for their work permit applications, and force ASAP members to wait 365 days after applying for asylum in order to apply for work permits.
On March 23, before the court of appeals could decide the government’s appeal, the Biden Administration agreed to withdraw (or “dismiss”) its appeal. This means the government has stopped challenging the lower court’s order! The case is now back before the lower court, where ASAP will continue fighting to protect ASAP members’ ability to work.
March 2021 Updates
Over the past few months, we have asked for your help to protect the rights that you received from the CASA v. Mayorkas lawsuit. Because of your feedback, the government has finally agreed to fix its delays in processing members’ work permits applications!
Here are some questions you may have:
I applied for a work permit as an ASAP member, but it has been more than 30 days, so I think there is a delay. Is this happening to other ASAP members?
We are so sorry this has happened. You are not alone – over the past few months, many members of ASAP have reported that they have had the same problem. As you know, the government is required by law to process your applications in 30 days. We are sorry that you are suffering because the government is not following the law and processing your application quickly.
Using the information from members who told us about delays, ASAP demanded that the government fix the delays and told the government we would go to court again if they didn’t solve the problem. At the end of February, the government agreed that it was required to process your work permit applications within 30 days, and it admitted that it had not been following that requirement in many cases. Thanks to your feedback, the government has finally promised to fix the delays!
What is the government’s plan to fix the delays?
The government has finally promised to process delayed work permit applications from ASAP members. The government has also promised that it will finish processing these applications within 90 days from the end of February. The government promises that after these 90 days, it will consistently process new work permit applications from ASAP members within 30 days, as the law requires. To do all of this, the government is going to have more employees work on processing ASAP members’ work permit applications.
We know that 90 days is a long time, especially if you mailed your work permit application many months ago. The government’s plan does not mean that it can just ignore your delayed application for another 90 days. If you applied a long time ago, the government should be processing your application much sooner than 90 days. We will continue to demand that the government process your delayed applications as soon as possible. For more information on how to flag a delayed application to the government, please read this page.
How will we know if the government is actually fixing the delays?
ASAP will watch to make sure the government is improving the situation. Each month, the government will tell ASAP how many members’ work permit applications are still processing and how many members’ work permit applications are delayed. We will review this information to make sure the government is processing your applications as soon as possible. If the government is not making progress, we will demand that it do more to fix the delays.
What else can I do to follow up on my delayed work permit application?
We are waiting to hear from the government about what our members can do to make sure their delayed applications are processed as quickly as possible. Please check back soon for more information about what you should do if your work permit application is still delayed for more than 30 days.
In the meantime, if you are an ASAP member you may also have rights under a court decision called Rosario to have your work authorization application processed in 30 days. ASAP is not directly involved in the Rosario lawsuit, but we have posted instructions about how members can demand their rights under that lawsuit at this page.
