The Trump administration is reversing a Biden-era policy that automatically extended work permits for migrants by roughly a year and a half, citing national security concerns.
Department of Homeland Security officials announced Wednesday an interim final rule that will eliminate the 540-day grace period for immigrants renewing the employment authorization documents (EADs).
The millions of migrants who entered the US under former President Biden had caused massive backlogs in the process, making it difficult to complete the renewals in the six-month timeframe previously in place.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in the interim final rule argued that “robust vetting” had been hampered as a result.
The Trump Cabinet official wrote that in part the “need to conduct complete and thorough vetting of applicants for renewal EADs to mitigate potential risks to public safety and national security became abundantly clear on June 1, 2025, when an alien firebombed and assaulted demonstrators at a peaceful Jewish event to support hostages in Gaza.”
“The alien threw Molotov cocktails that burned multiple victims, and his attack injured 15 people. The alien had entered the United States in August 2022 and remained in the United States beyond the expiration of his nonimmigrant status,” she explained.
“He applied for asylum in September 2022, and that application was still pending at the time of the attack. He also obtained an EAD based on a pending asylum application which was then automatically extended for a period of up to 540 days,” she added.
“This attack by an alien against peaceful demonstrators highlights the critical need and urgency to ensure that aliens are not provided immigration benefits in the United States without thorough vetting and more frequent determinations of continued eligibility and, when applicable, determinations that the alien continues to merit a favorable exercise of discretion.” --->READ MORE HERE
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| AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana |
The Department of Homeland Security’s immigration agency will
announce a new rule Wednesday requiring all migrants to go through a full revetting
before their work permits can be renewed. Here’s what you need to know
about the policy change and its impact on work authorization for
migrants:
New vetting requirements
Trump administration rolls back Biden-era automatic renewals:
- Department of Homeland Security’s immigration agency will announce new rule Wednesday requiring all migrants to go through full revetting before their work permits can be renewed
- That rolls back Biden-era policy that had allowed renewals even without checks being completed
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which shared new regulation first with Washington Times, said Biden policy had granted unprecedented leniency and had introduced new national security vulnerabilities
Previous automatic extension system
Biden policy provided 540-day renewals without verification:
- Under that policy, migrants whose work permits were expiring were granted automatic 540-day renewal once they filed new application, but before USCIS performed any of its verification checks to make sure person was still entitled under program, and still had clean record
- USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said his agency, under President Trump’s orders, is putting new emphasis on vetting of aliens, and his new policy delivers on that
- “It’s commonsense measure to ensure appropriate vetting and screening has been completed before alien’s employment authorization or documentation is extended,” he said
- “All aliens must remember that working in United States is a privilege, not a right”
Importance of work permits
EADs provide pathway to legal employment and benefits:
- Work permits, officially known as Employment Authorization Documents or EADs, are seen as Holy Grail in immigration world
- They not only open up opportunities for legal jobs, but are often proxy for some tentative legal status
- Holders can get Social Security numbers and driver’s licenses and obtain some taxpayer benefits
- Immigration officers will sometimes even accept EAD as proof of status
- Wide range of migrants with less than permanent status can apply for work permits, including those with firm legal status — such as spouses of guest workers — and those without, such as asylum-seekers, “Dreamers” here under DACA program, and those granted Temporary Protected Status
Security concerns cited
DHS points to specific criminal cases:
- Ian Roberts, illegal immigrant recently arrested and fired from his job as superintendent of public schools in Des Moines, Iowa, had previously held work authorization
- So had Mohamed Sabry Soliman, man charged with Molotov cocktail attack earlier this year on pro-Israel demonstration in Boulder, Colorado
- Homeland Security said he overstayed his visa but applied for asylum in 2022, and through that application — even though he hadn’t yet been approved for asylum — had been granted work permit and then automatic 540-day renewal --->READ MORE HERE
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