SCOOP: Silent Policy Shift Dooms Detainee Applications
USCIS quietly scraps jailhouse biometrics, guaranteeing “abandonment” denials for detained immigrants who can’t leave to keep their appointments.
WASHINGTON — A quiet policy update from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has created a procedural “dead end” for thousands of detained immigrants, effectively mandating the denial of their legal residency or asylum applications without a hearing.
The guidance, issued Dec. 5 without a public announcement, prohibits federal immigration officers from collecting fingerprints or photos—known as biometrics—from individuals in detention facilities unless they are already facing active deportation proceedings in immigration court.
Immigration attorneys warn this creates a bureaucratic catch-22: Detained applicants cannot leave their facilities to attend mandatory biometric appointments at public service centers. However, under the new rule, USCIS will automatically deny their applications for “abandonment” if they fail to appear.
“This means that if a person is incarcerated and only has a USCIS benefit pending (and not an EOIR application), USCIS will not send officers to the detention …