Dec 23 (Reuters) - The Trump administration launched a nationwide campaign to void asylum claims of thousands of people with active cases in immigration courts by arguing that they can be deported to countries that are not their own, CBS News reported on Tuesday.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. The White House and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to requests for comment.
"We are working to get illegal aliens out of our country as quickly as possible while ensuring they receive all available legal process, including a hearing before an immigration judge," a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
"DHS is using every lawful tool available to address the backlog and abuse of the asylum system," the spokesperson added, citing "lawful bilateral arrangements that allow illegal aliens seeking asylum in the United States to pursue protection in a partner country that has agreed to fairly adjudicate their claims."
The administration's new approach involves ICE attorneys asking immigration judges to dismiss asylum cases without hearing them on merit, the report said.
ICE attorneys have also asked the judges to order asylum-seekers to be deported to countries such as Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador and Uganda, the report added.
The report comes as President Donald Trump is preparing for a more aggressive immigration crackdown in 2026 with billions of dollars in new funding.
ICE and Border Patrol will get $170 billion in additional funds through September 2029 - a huge surge of funding over their existing annual budgets of about $19 billion after the Republican-controlled Congress passed a massive spending package in July.
(Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan and Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; editing by Philippa Fletcher, Rod Nickel)
