A federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s asylum ban late Monday, meaning Latin American migrants can seeking refuge in the U. S. even if they enter illegally.
Nov. 20 (UPI) — A federal judge blocked President Donald Trump ‘s asylum ban late Monday, meaning Latin American migrants can seeking refuge in the United States even if they enter illegally.
Earlier this year, Trump started a policy that barred asylum to anyone who enters the country illegally; they had to enter at a designated port.
Monday night, U. S. District Court Judge Jon S. Tigar decided the ban would do irreparable harm to immigrants and violates laws established in the Immigration and Nationality Act.
“Whatever the scope of the president’s authority, he may not rewrite the immigration laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressively forbidden,” Tigar said in his ruling . “Defendants’ claims that the rule can somehow be harmonized with the INA are not persuasive. Failure to comply with entry requirements such as arriving at a designated port of entry should bear little, if any, weight in the asylum process.”
The judge’s decision is a victory for immigration advocates, which include the American Civil Liberties Union, Southern Poverty Law Center, Center for Constitutional Rights and others.
The judge’s order will remain in effect until Dec. 19 .
“This ban is illegal, will put people’s lives in danger and raises the alarm about President Trump’s disregard for separation of powers,” ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt argued. “There is no justifiable reason to flatly deny people the right to asylum, and we cannot send them back to danger based on the manner of their entry. Congress has been clear on this point for decades.”
The number of migrants from Central America to the United States skyrocketed from 5,000 in 2008 to 97,000 this year. Trump has called caravans of migrants presently traveling to the United States through Mexico — many displaced by violence in Honduras — an “invasion” that included some criminals, gang members and “Middle Easterners.”
Trump said his policy was based on national security grounds — the same reasoning he used in attempting to implement a travel ban that was rejected by multiple federal courts. The Department of Justice cited the travel ban in its defense of the order seeking to bar asylum.
