AG Sessions has taken steps to limit the use (abuse) for those who claim asylum:

The Department of Justice is crafting a plan that would prohibit any migrant convicted of crossing the border illegally from receiving asylum, Vox reported Friday.

The plan, a copy of which was viewed by Vox, would also further restrict the ability of Central Americans to claim domestic or gang violence as a reason to request asylum.
One source told Vox that the proposed changes are "the most severe restrictions  . . . .  
on asylum since at least 1965" and "possibly even further back" — 1965 is when current legal immigration law was passed.

The proposed changes are consistent with Attorney General Jeff Sessions' ruling earlier this month that makes it nearly impossible for Central Americans to cite violence as a provision to apply for asylum to the U.S. . . . . .  "Generally, claims by aliens pertaining to domestic violence or gang violence perpetrated by non-governmental actors will not qualify for asylum," Sessions wrote in an internal memo. The AG also told immigration judges earlier this month that the "asylum system is being abused."