The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has unveiled a proposal aimed at limiting access to work permits for asylum seekers in the United States.

Under the proposed rule, work authorisations for asylum applicants would be suspended until the average processing time for certain asylum cases falls to 180 days or below.

The department said that, at current processing rates, it could take decades — potentially between 14 and 173 years — to reach that benchmark, though it acknowledged that circumstances could change.

DHS noted that more than 1.4 million affirmative asylum applications are currently pending.

Officials argued that the new measure is intended to curb what they describe as a surge in meritless asylum claims filed primarily to secure employment authorisation.

The administration of Donald Trump maintained that work permits linked to asylum claims are issued at the discretion of the DHS secretary and should not be treated as an automatic right.