The Seventh Circuit has reviewed an Administrative Procedures Act challenge to a denial of asylum by the Asylum Office. In this case, the petitioner was in valid TPS status at the time of the adjudication of his asylum application, and as such, he was not placed in removal proceedings by the Department of Homeland Security, and could not renew his asylum application before an Immigration Judge. The Seventh Circuit held that the District Court was not barred by any jurisdiction-stripping statute from taking jurisdiction over the challenge. Nevertheless, because the petitioner could ultimately seek review of his asylum application through an Immigration Court proceeding (should the Department of Homeland Security place him in removal proceedings), the decision of the asylum office is not a final agency action.
The full text of Dhakai v. Sessions can be found here: