Trump will suspend asylum for people crossing the border illegally

Immigrants are allowed to apply for asylum, when they come to the ports of entry or bypass them and enter the country illegally. The rules proposed by the administration would prohibit those who enter illegally to apply for asylum and place them in an accelerated expulsion procedure, according to a message issued by the Ministries of Justice and the Ministry of Justice. Homeland Security at the Federal Register last Thursday.

President Donald Trump hinted at such a shift in the weeks leading up to Tuesday's midterm elections as part of a broader strategy in which he focused almost exclusively on banking. immigration to create a solid foundation for the GOP. At a press conference held four days before the midterm elections, he said the country's asylum system was "mistreated", as the number of asylum applications went from 5,000 in 2008 to 97,000 in 2018, mainly because of the victims of violence and poverty in Central America. their country of origin.

"Our asylum system is overwhelmed by too many unfounded asylum applications from outsiders who place a tremendous burden on our resources, preventing us from being able to quickly grant asylum to those who are in need of asylum. really deserve it, "said Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen and her lawyer. General Matthew Whitaker said in a joint statement. "Today, we use the authority that Congress has granted us to ban foreigners who violate (the new rules)."

Lee Gelernt, a lawyer from the American Civil Liberties Union who led the lawsuit that forced the Trump administration to reunite more than 2,500 immigrant children separated from their parents this summer, said the proposed amendments in asylum were questionable.

"The Administration's plan to categorically deny asylum to those who enter between entry points is clearly illegal and inconsistent with our country's commitment to providing a safe haven for those who are in danger, "Gelernt said Thursday. "There will be lawsuits."

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Migrant caravans making their way to the United States rekindle rhetoric and arguments about immigration and border security. And this is not the first time.
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Several groups have already filed lawsuits in California and the District of Columbia to challenge the administration's measures to limit asylum. Thursday's announcement will add to the dispute, which could be decided by a Supreme Court composed of two people appointed by Trump.

Asylum is a form of protection granted to persons who fear being persecuted in their country of origin because of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a social group particular or their political views. From 2000 to 2016, the United States granted asylum to an average of 26,651 foreigners a year, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security.

The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act stipulates that any foreigner who arrives in the United States, "whether or not he is in a designated port of arrival", may apply for a fee. ;asylum. A United Nations treaty signed in 1951 by the United States stipulates that "refugees must not be penalized for their illegal entry", because extreme situations sometimes require that refugees break the rules on immigration.

To derogate from these rules, the administration used a logic similar to that of its controversial travel ban on Muslim-majority countries. US law allows a president to sign a proclamation suspending the entry of those deemed "detrimental to the interests of the United States." Trump is likely to sign a presidential proclamation on Friday defining the asylum restrictions, which would revive the new rules.

While the number of immigrant asylum seekers along the southern border has increased in recent years, thousands of people have had to wait on the Mexican side of the border, sometimes sleeping on bridges and streets, to plead their cause. The Mexican government, in collaboration with non-governmental organizations and groups of volunteers, has created a system allowing candidates to register and be allowed to enter US ports of entry in order.

These long waits, after even longer journeys to reach the US border, often push immigrants to enter the country illegally and seek asylum in this way. When the last caravan arrived in the United States in April 401, they showed up at the points of entry, as the administration urged them to do, but 122 stopped waiting and have illegally entered the country to seek asylum, according to data provided by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Thursday's announcement follows several other measures taken by the administration to stop the caravan, which Trump described as an "invasion" of the country.

The Pentagon mobilized more than 7,000 active-duty army soldiers, who began laying kilometers of concertina wires along parts of the border. US Customs and Border Protection has repositioned their agents from all over the country to double the southern border to prevent illegal entries.

During a visit to the border, CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said that he considered the approaching caravan to be an "order keeping situation" and that his agents would not be able to not speed up the process to interview asylum seekers.

Thousands of migrants traveled to Mexico City, where they gathered and demanded buses to take them to the US-Mexico border. Government officials in Mexico City told The Associated Press that nearly 5,000 migrants are staying at a sports complex, with more than 1,700 migrants under the age of 18, including 310 children under five.

The Mexican government told the AP that most of the migrants had refused to stay in Mexico and only a small number of them had agreed to return to their home country. About 85% of migrants come from Honduras, while others come from Central America, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua.

Contribute: John Fritze in Washington.

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