On September 3, 2026, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a directive ordering ICE lawyers to request early dismissal of asylum applications they consider legally insufficient. ^[1] Immigration attorney Ezequiel Hernández stated in N+ Univision that the directive gives ICE prosecutors a tool to ask judges not to hear cases they believe do not meet the minimum requirements for asylum. ^[2] The directive allows judges to deny asylum requests before a full hearing if the facts, even if true, do not fulfill the legal definition of asylum. ^[3] The directive instructs the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) of ICE to file a motion to pretermit when an application is legally insufficient, even if the alleged facts are true. ^[4] The directive targets asylum requests where the applicant fails to clearly allege essential elements such as persecution, a protected ground (race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or particular social group), or a causal link between the harm and a protected ground. ^[5] Even if a judge grants a motion to pretermit, the case is not automatically closed; applicants may still have other defenses against deportation such as withholding of removal, protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), or adjustment of status. ^[6]