Trump Administration to Push UN for Narrower Asylum Rights

By Staff, Agencies

The Trump administration plans to urge the United Nations to scale back global asylum protections at a side event during the UN General Assembly later this month, Reuters reported, citing internal documents.

The proposal would require asylum seekers to apply for protection in the first country they enter and give host nations greater authority to decide if applicants can be returned home.

It also seeks to make asylum temporary rather than permanent, echoing restrictive measures already adopted in the U.S.

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau is expected to lead the UN event, while Andrew Veprek, nominated to head the State Department’s refugee division, has argued that current asylum rules are outdated and open to “abuse.”

Refugee advocates warn the move could dismantle decades of protections created after World War II.

Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, said weakening asylum rights risks returning the world “to the situation we were in during the Holocaust.”

Since early 2025, the U.S. has capped refugee admissions at historic lows, prioritized European resettlement, and limited eligibility for asylum.

Internal State Department documents describe building “a new framework” to replace the 1951 and 1967 global refugee accords as a White House priority.