Trump administration urges other nations to join its push to restrict asylum rights

Source: Reuters

September 25, 2025 4:43 PM EDT Updated 11 hours ago


NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Top Trump administration officials urged other nations on Thursday to join a global campaign to roll back asylum protections, a major shift that would seek to reshape the post-World War Two framework around humanitarian migration.

At a side event during the United Nations annual gathering in New York City, U.S. officials said that the existing global asylum system was being exploited by economic migrants and criminal groups seeking to profit from illegal immigration.

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau laid out the U.S. stance, saying migrants should seek asylum in the first country they enter, not a nation of their choosing. He said asylum should be temporary, with the host country deciding when conditions back home had improved enough for their return.

"The asylum system has become a huge loophole in our migration laws," Landau said. "I think we have to be realistic that these laws are now being abused." The proposal - exclusively reported by Reuters earlier this month - would mark a dramatic pivot from how asylum works in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-urges-other-nations-join-its-push-restrict-asylum-rights-2025-09-25/