Trump administration proposes tougher rules on work permits for asylum-seekers

The Trump administration is proposing to make it tougher for asylum-seekers to obtain permission to work in the United States while their immigration cases are pending.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said Wednesday that a proposed rule would double the time asylum-seekers must wait for a work permit to a year and bar those who crossed a border illegally from applying for the permits at all.

The agency says the rule aims to discourage immigrants who don’t qualify for asylum from seeking it.

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The public can comment on the proposed rule until Jan. 13.

It is the latest in a series of proposals by the Trump administration aimed at deterring immigrants from seeking asylum along the U.S.-Mexico border.