A federal judge on Wednesday blocked Trump administration policies that prevented immigrants who suffered gang violence or domestic abuse in their home countries from seeking asylum.
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Wednesday blocked Trump administration policies that prevented immigrants who suffered gang violence or domestic abuse in their home countries from seeking asylum.
U. S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan declared that some of the guidance that then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued this year cannot be used to determine whether an immigrant has a credible fear of persecution or torture in their home countries, the first step to making an asylum claim in the U. S.
The judge said the administration’s policy on asylum seekers violates federal immigration law and that « it is the will of Congress — not the whims of the executive » that sets the standards for expedited removal.
It was yet another legal blow for President Donald Trump’s efforts to harden immigration policies without Congress changing laws. Another case involving whether migrants can claim asylum if they crossed the border illegally was in court Wednesday in San Francisco. A judge has temporarily stopped that November policy change, and Wednesday’s proceedings were to determine whether that stay should be continued. The administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow that asylum policy to go forward.
Responding to Sullivan’s ruling, a Justice Department spokesman, Steven Stafford, said Sessions’ guidance had followed the requirements for asylum under U.
