No Asylum for Criminals Act of 2025
No Asylum for Criminals Act of 2025 would change who is eligible for asylum by amending the Immigration and Nationality Act. Under the bill, an alien who has been finally convicted of a felony or misdemeanor would, in general, be ineligible for asylum. There is an exception the bill creates: the Secretary of Homeland Security may designate, by regulation, certain political offenses committed outside the United States that will not be treated as the crimes described in the ineligibility clause. The authority to designate such offenses is limited to political offenses occurring outside the United States. The bill also adds formal definitions of “felony” and “misdemeanor” for consistency in how crimes are counted, tying the terms to the conviction jurisdiction or to imprisonment terms. The bill was introduced in the House on February 13, 2025, by Rep. Harris (and several co-sponsors), and was referred to the Judiciary Committee. In short, the bill would tighten asylum eligibility for people with criminal convictions and grant DHS broader power to exclude certain outside-the-U.S. political offenses from counting as crimes for asylum purposes, while providing defined terms to standardize interpretation.
Key Points
- 1Ineligibility for asylum based on final conviction of a felony or misdemeanor, with limited exception.
- 2DHS authority to designate by regulation outside-the-U.S. political offenses that will not count as crimes for purposes of asylum ineligibility. This authority is limited to political offenses committed outside the United States.
- 3New definitions added:
- 4- Felony: any crime defined as a felony by the conviction jurisdiction or punishable by more than one year in prison.
- 5- Misdemeanor: any crime defined as a misdemeanor by the conviction jurisdiction or not punishable by more than one year in prison.
- 6The standard uses “final conviction,” potentially excluding individuals with pending charges or certain non-conviction dispositions.
- 7The bill is strictly an immigration policy change (asylum eligibility) and does not appear to create broader criminal penalties; it relies on regulatory designations for the outside-U.S. exception.
- 8Status: Introduced in the House on February 13, 2025, sponsored by Rep. Harris of North Carolina and several co-sponsors; referred to the Judiciary Committee.