The Ministry of Justice abolishes the policy authorizing the release of asylum seekers: NPR

The Ministry of Justice issued an order Tuesday that could keep thousands of asylum seekers in detention while waiting for their case to be heard by an immigration court – a wait that often lasts for months or even years.

Attorney General William Barr's decision is the latest move by the Trump administration to discourage asylum seekers from coming to the United States in the hope of finding refuge.

In a written decision quashing a 2005 policy, Barr ordered immigration judges to not release migrants on bail once their case had been approved for expedited removal proceedings – status granted only after 39, an applicant succeeded in establishing "a credible fear of persecution or torture" in the country of origin.

"I conclude that these aliens remain ineligible for bail, that they arrive at the border or that they are apprehended in the United States," said Barr, who has the power to overturn the rulings rendered previously by the immigration courts.

Asylum seekers "must be detained until such time as [their] the referral procedure is complete. "According to Barr's order, only parolees of the Department of Homeland Security will be eligible for release.

Barr's decision does not apply to family units or unaccompanied children, who generally can not be detained for more than 20 days under the Flores Convention.

It is unclear how or where the Ministry of Justice expects to detain more people. Last month, the United States Department of Customs and Border Protection said that an increase in the number of unaccompanied families and children had led to a "humanitarian crisis."

"We are currently experiencing a system-wide emergency in our treatment and storage facilities," CBP deputy commissioner Robert E. Perez said in a statement.

"The humanitarian crisis created by a massive influx of unaccompanied family groups and children in recent months has forced CBP to reallocate resources away from law enforcement missions, trade missions and peacekeeping missions. travel to treat and care for the people in our custody, "added Perez.

The change comes at a time when the backlog of cases in immigration courts is at its highest level. In February, the court's active file exceeded 855,000 cases, which represented an increase of more than 300,000 pending cases adding to the existing backlog since the end of January 2017, when President Trump took office. In addition, a growing number of Central American migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are fleeing to the United States. This means that Barr's decision could lead thousands of asylum seekers to remain in detention for years until their case can be heard.

Although Barr has suspended his decision for 90 days, immigrant rights advocates have already pledged to challenge the Trump administration's decision in court, NFL attorney Michael Tan, a lawyer with the ACLU Immigrants & Project, told NPR. # 39; Rights.

"The Constitution does not let the government lock people up without basic due process," he said. "You can not lock people up without giving them the basic hearing in front of a judge, who can then look at the person and determine whether they should be locked up or not."

The Trump administration has always argued that in order to solve the growing immigration crisis, the "catch and release" policy must be ended, allowing border workers to live freely inside the country while their cases were judged, a process that could take time. up to years.

White House officials, including Trump, insisted that the policy allowed a large number of undocumented migrants to disappear from the population and never return to mandatory hearings. But the data of the Ministry of Justice contradicts this statement.

According to a report analyzing data from the last five years available, between 60% and 75% of unsuccessful migrants return to attend immigration court proceedings.

Other research shows that asylum seekers with lawyers have even higher court turnout rates. Studies conducted as part of a short-term pilot project called the Family Case Management Program found that 99% of participants attended to attend the court appearance and report to ICE. The program, which linked released asylum seekers with case managers, was canceled by the Trump administration in 2017.

"We know that asylum seekers from Central America currently have real asylum claims, often based on gang violence, gender-based violence and other forms of asylum. of persecution that they are very motivated to sue in court.They do not try to flee, "Tan said.