No Asylum for Criminals Act of 2025
Congress Proposes Ban on Asylum for Anyone Convicted of a Felony or Misdemeanor
Stalled
No legislative action in over 90 days.
Legislative Progress
Key Points
- This bill would change the rules for who can ask for asylum in the United States. Currently, only certain serious crimes prevent someone from getting asylum, but this plan would expand that to include almost any criminal conviction.
- Under the new rules, any person convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor would be automatically disqualified from receiving asylum. This includes crimes handled by federal, state, local, or tribal courts.
- The bill defines a felony as any crime punishable by more than one year in prison, and a misdemeanor as any crime punishable by one year or less. This means even minor offenses could lead to a person being denied protection.
- There is one small exception: the Secretary of Homeland Security could decide that certain "political offenses" committed in other countries do not count against a person's asylum application.
- The goal of the bill is to prevent people with criminal records from staying in the U.S. through the asylum process. If passed, it would likely lead to more people being deported or turned away at the border.
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
This bill specifically targets people with any criminal record — felony or misdemeanor — making them categorically ineligible for asylum. Under current law, only people convicted of "particularly serious crimes" (generally aggravated felonies) are barred. This change would sweep in people with convictions for extremely minor offenses, such as petty theft or trespassing, permanently denying them protection even if they face torture or persecution abroad.
Milestones
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
No Asylum for Criminals Act of 2025
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
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