WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Mike Rounds (R-SD) introduced legislation that would improve the integrity of our asylum system by deterring illegal immigrants who would attempt to abuse our asylum system. The Asylum Integrity Act would replace the current regulatory definition of “frivolous” with a statutory definition that finds frivolousness where an application has been knowingly filed by the asylum applicant and either:

(1) Includes a fabricated material;

(2) Is premised on false or fabricated evidence;

(3) Was filed without regard to the merits of the claim; OR

(4) Is clearly foreclosed by applicable law.

In 2021, the Trump Administration issued regulations to refine this definition in order to prevent asylum abuse. Rather than just a knowingly false claim, this regulation would allow for a finding of a frivolous claim where the applicant was willfully blind to a frivolous claim. The penalty for filing a frivolous asylum claim is a permanent bar from receiving any immigration benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

“As the crisis at our southern border grows, the asylum backlog grows, and illegal immigrants find more ways to abuse our asylum system,” said Senator Tillis. “Many asylum seekers don’t have legitimate claims and their cases are not seen for four or five years, resulting in many illegal immigrants, including cartel members, staying in our country under fraudulent...

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