Now, the government can properly vet applications and level the playing field for true asylum seekers who get a work permit, not those trying to gain entry to the US through a back door.
Center for Immigration Studies' Jessica Vaughn said the 30 day deadline that the Trump administration is trying to eliminate was always arbitrary and imposed an unrealistic deadline on agencies to approve work permits.
"This is going to put the people who should be getting work permits, the people with legal status, who are waiting for a green card to go to the front of the line, instead of having to wait behind these mostly frivolous asylum-seekers," said Vaughn.
She said over the long term that should deter people from coming to the United States, just to get a work permit. In recent years, the number of work permits issued by the government has grown to more than a million a year. When illegal immigrants apply for work permits, it’s the next best thing to legal status.
"These are people who have not come in through our legal immigration channels for the most part," said Vaughn.
She said the Trump administration is right to shut down this shadow guest worker system that takes job opportunities away from Americans who need those jobs.