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A federal court of appeal announced Friday that the Trump administration could continue to temporarily force asylum seeking migrants to the United States to wait in Mexico while their cases are settled.
A panel of three judges of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit suspended the decision of a lower court four days earlier, thus blocking the administration's protocol. The Court of Appeals will review next week the opportunity to extend this suspension – and allow the Trump Administration's policy to stay in effect longer.
In December, the administration announced its new policy, called Migration Protection Protocols, stating that it would help prevent people from using the asylum process to enter the country. and stay there illegally. President Trump has long been angered by the so-called hand-over policies, under which asylum seekers are temporarily allowed in the United States while they wait for their hearing.
On Monday, Justice Richard Seeborg of the US District Court for the Northern District of California issued an injunction against Trump's new protocols, saying the president did not have the power to enforce them and that they had violated immigration laws.
Judge Seeborg said in his decision that the protocols did not provide for "sufficient safeguards" to comply with the Department of Homeland Security's obligation to return migrants to places where "their life or freedom would be threatened" .
On Friday, when Judge Seeborg's injunction was to enter into force, a panel of three judges of the ninth circuit decided to temporarily suspend the proceedings.
In a tweet late Friday night, President Trump wrote: "Finally, good news at the border!" He had already criticized the ninth circuit, based in San Francisco, claiming that the court had always sentenced him. Although it's not always true, the balance sheet of the administration in the circuit is mediocre.
The Department of Justice, which appealed Justice Seeborg's decision, argued that the injunction would "cause immediate and substantial prejudice to the United States, including diminishing the ability of the executive to work effectively with the Mexico to handle the crisis at our common border.
The ninth circuit will review next week whether to maintain the suspension, as well as Mr. Trump's protocols, during the call.
Judy Rabinovitz, deputy director of the Immigrant Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, who pleaded the case, said she expected this decision to be made next week.
"The question will be whether the government can continue to implement the policy while calling on the ninth circuit," she said. "Obviously, we do not think he should be able to do it."
She called the policy illegal and cruel.
"We think it should be stopped," she said.
Department of Justice lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Court of Appeal decision comes as the nation's immigration system may have reached a breaking point as migrants arrive more and more at the country's southwestern border with Mexico.
The flow of migrant families reached record levels, with February's total 560% higher than the same period last year. Many seek asylum, in which they have the burden of proving previous persecution or testimony establishing the "well-founded" fear of facing danger when returning home.
The migration protection protocols of the Trump administration were an attempt to deter migrants. The Mexican government reluctantly agreed to greet the migrants in December.
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