The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has canceled a Biden-era rule that gave immigrants with work permits an automatic temporary renewal of 540 days. 

That measure from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services allowed those who have expired permits to keep working while their renewal applications were being processed. But as of Oct. 30, the government has stopped issuing new automatic renewals. 

The Trump administration says this move allows better vetting of those using work permits. 

“It’s a commonsense measure to ensure appropriate vetting and screening has been completed before an alien’s employment authorization or documentation is extended,” USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said in a news release. “All aliens must remember that working in the United States is a privilege, not a right.” 

However, some are skeptical of that reasoning.  

Nubia Willman, an attorney and chief programs officer for Latinos Progresando, believes this to be “another example of destabilization” on an already turbulent process for immigrants to renew their work permits. The rule applies to immigrants, asylum seekers, migrant workers and anyone who needs a work permit. 

She said that this is an attack on communities who tried to come into the U.S. the right way.  

“It’s an added layer of frustration for people trying to build their lives here,” Willman said. “It puts their livelihoods at risk.”  

Because of the termination of the auto renewal, workers are at higher risk of losing access to employment, which adds another layer of difficulty when immigrants and asylum seekers need to pay private immigration lawyers to represent them.  

It may also encourage individuals to find ways to work without having their permits. Adriel Orozco, senior policy counsel for the American Immigration Council, said that could jeopardize their cases for permanent residency. 

Orozco said nearly 44% of all work permit applications through USCIS are renewal applications, meaning a significant portion of all applications are for those who already have been vetted.  

He remains skeptical that DHS enacted this rule for better screening and instead believes it’s part of a larger attack on all forms of immigration.  

Although he said there are no legal grounds for ICE to detain people whose work permits have expired, it remains uncertain whether those people will be targeted.  

Jackie Stevens, political science professor and founding director of the deportation clinic at Northwestern University, believes DHS will try to use the rule to broaden the scope of ICE arrests.  

“It enlarges the scope of people who are going to be subject to ICE arrests and harassment,” Stevens said. “And it puts people who are already in a precarious position in further jeopardy.” 

The Biden-era rule was initially created to help ease the backlog of USCIS work permit applications. Stevens believes that without the automatic renewals, there will be intense strain on the application system along with larger impacts on the economy at large.  

“The new rule completely disregards any kind of estimates on the economy that are supposed to be there by law,” Stevens said. “And instead of that, it engages in this, you know, kind of reckless fearmongering.” 

Orozco said that’s a key misstep that could possibly be grounds for a lawsuit against DHS. 

Orozco said employers could soon find themselves at a difficult crossroads, because it is illegal to discriminate or deny employment based on immigration status, yet they may lose access to labor if work permits are not renewed and they are not legally allowed to let people continue to work without a valid work permit.  

Those whose applications were submitted prior to or on Oct. 30 will still receive the 540-day auto renewal.  

Willman shared that those who rely on work permits can file to renew employment authorization documents up to 180 days prior to expiration and recommends workers apply to renew permits the second they hit that time frame.  

Willman said another option could include reaching out to USCIS to ask for applications to be expedited. Above all else, Willman encouraged Immigrants and Asylum Seekers to speak to their attorneys as soon as possible.  

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