A US Judge Opposes the Application of Trump's Asylum Restrictions

A federal judge has banned the Trump administration from denying asylum to immigrants illegally crossing the southern border.

On November 9, President Donald Trump promulgated a proclamation bypassing the immigration law, stating that anyone crossing the southern border between two official points of entry would not be eligible for asylum.

As the first of several migrant caravans began arriving at the US-Mexico border, Trump said the restrictions were needed to end what he calls a threat to national security. He has also sent thousands of soldiers on active duty to the border to support the immigration officers.

But in his ruling on Monday, US District Judge Jon Tigar agreed to legal groups that immediately sued, arguing that the US Immigration Act clearly allows a person to apply for a bail hearing. asylum even if it enters the country between two official points of entry and temporarily prevented the decision from taking effect. while the case is heard.

"Regardless of the extent of the president's authority, he can only rewrite the immigration laws to impose a condition expressly prohibited by Congress," said Tigar, the party's candidate. former President Barack Obama.

It was the last legal remedy to thwart the Trump administration's efforts to toughen the US-Mexico border without Congress amending laws, including attempts to detain migrant families in long-term settlements. Trump ended family separations at the border earlier this year after a public outcry, but it was a federal judge who ruled that the administration needed to reunite the families.

Monday's decision remains in effect for one month, except on appeal. By restricting asylum, Trump used the same powers as those used to impose a travel ban – the third trial was finally upheld by the Supreme Court.

Homeland Security and the Justice Department said in a joint statement that the Supreme Court had already shown that the president had a legal right to restrict asylum.

"Our asylum system is broken and tens of thousands of unfounded claims are inflicted on it every year," said the departments. "We look forward to continuing to defend the legitimate and well-motivated exercise of executive power in managing the crisis on the southern border."

The settlement was put in place in part to put an end to what the government is saying as loopholes allowing thousands of people to avoid deportation. DHS estimates that about 70,000 people a year apply for asylum after an illegal crossing. But, overall, illegal crossings are well below the historic highs of previous decades.

Tigar's decision notes that the federal law states that a person may apply for asylum if it has arrived in the United States, "whether or not it is in a port of arrival appointed. "

"People have the right to asylum if they cross entry points," said Baher Azmy, a lawyer with the Center for Constitutional Rights, who sued the government alongside the American Union of civil liberties. "It could not be clearer."

About 3,000 people from the first caravans arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, on the other side of the San Diego-California border. US Customs and Border Protection authorities announced on Monday that they had closed traffic to the north for several hours at the San Ysidro terminal in order to install removable barriers surmounted by cables, after migrants planned to rush through the alleyways, but none did so.

Beginning on Monday, DHS announced that it had fired 107 people at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, people who had requested asylum between two official crossing points since then. the entry into force of the Trump decision. The officials did not say whether the cases of these people were still progressing through other more difficult routes left to them after the proclamation.

Officials said that the changes to the asylum law were aimed at channeling migrants to official border posts so that they could decide quickly instead of letting them go. try to get around the border, which stretches for nearly 3,000 kilometers.

But many border crossings such as San Ysidro already have significant waiting times. People are often forced to wait in shelters or outdoor camps on the Mexican side, sometimes for weeks.

ACLU attorney, Lee Gelernt, said some people seeking asylum were crossing official ports because "they were running a real danger", whether in their home country or in the United States. origin or Mexico.

"We do not tolerate people entering between entry points, but Congress has decided that, if they do, they should always be allowed to apply for asylum," he said. he declares.

The US military has deployed 5,800 troops on active duty at the US-Mexico border. 2100 soldiers of the National Guard have also been deployed since April as part of a separate mission.

They are not allowed to detain illegal smugglers.

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Associated Press reporters Jill Colvin and Colleen Long, Washington, DC, contributed to this report.