WASHINGTON, Nov 21, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A US federal judge temporarily
blocked Donald Trump’s administration from denying asylum to people who enter
the country illegally, prompting the president to allege Tuesday that the
court was biased against him.
Trump issued a proclamation earlier this month saying that only people who
enter the US at official checkpoints — as opposed to sneaking across the
border — can apply for asylum, as a caravan of thousands of Central American
migrants made its way north through Mexico.
But US District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco issued a temporary
restraining order against the Trump proclamation, thus granting a request
from human rights groups that had sued shortly after the order was announced.
“It’s a disgrace,” Trump said, alleging judicial bias and appearing to
refer to Tigar — who was appointed by US president Barack Obama — as an
“Obama judge.”
“We will win that case in the Supreme Court of the United States,” Trump
said.
Tigar wrote that the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 states that
any foreigner who arrives in the US, “whether or not at a designated port of
arrival,” may apply for asylum.
“The rule barring asylum for immigrants who enter the country outside a
port of entry irreconcilably conflicts with the INA and the expressed intent
of Congress,” Tigar wrote.
“Whatever the scope of the president’s authority, he may not rewrite the
immigration laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressly
forbidden.”
The judge’s restraining order remains in effect until the court decides on
the case.
Trump’s administration has argued that he has the executive power to curb
immigration in the name of national security — a power he invoked right
after taking office last year with a controversial ban on travelers from
several mostly Muslim countries.
– ‘Broken’ asylum system –
The final version of the order was upheld by the US Supreme Court on June
26 after a protracted legal battle.
“Our asylum system is broken, and it is being abused by tens of thousands
of meritless claims every year,” a joint statement from the Justice
Department and the Department of Homeland Security said after the asylum
ruling.
“We look forward to continuing to defend the executive branch’s legitimate
and well-reasoned exercise of its authority to address the crisis at our
southern border.”
When the new policy was announced by the Department of Homeland Security on
November 8, a senior administration official said it would address what he
called the “historically unparalleled abuse of our immigration system” along
the border with Mexico.
Administration officials say anyone who manages to get across can request
asylum and subsequently often vanish while their case languishes in the court
system.
“The vast majority of these applications eventually turn out to be non-
meritorious,” a senior administration official said, asking not to be
identified.
Less than 10 percent of cases result in asylum being granted, the
government says.
Human rights campaigners and other critics of the Trump crackdown say that
by restricting asylum seekers to border crossing points — which are already
under enormous pressure — the government is effectively shutting the door on
people who may truly be fleeing for their lives.
“The government cannot abdicate its responsibility toward migrants fleeing
harm,” the New York Immigration Coalition advocacy group said.
But the administration official argued that “what we’re attempting to do is
trying to funnel credible fear claims, or asylum claims, through the ports of
entry where we are better resourced.”
That way, the official said, courts will “handle those claims in an
expeditious and efficient manner, so that those who do actually require an
asylum protection get those protections.”
In 2018, border patrols registered more than 400,000 illegal border
crossers, according to the Department of Homeland Security. And in the last
five years, the number of those requesting asylum has increased by 2,000
percent, it said.
– ‘Criminals’ in caravan –
Speaking at the border in Imperial Beach, California, Homeland Security
chief Kirstjen Nielsen doubled down, threatening to arrest or deport all
caravan migrants who dare to cross into the United States.
“The crisis is real and it is just on the other side of this wall,” she
said.
“Make no mistake — we are very serious. You will not get into our country
illegally… If you try to enter our country without authorization, you have
broken the law of the United States, you will be detained, prosecuted and
repatriated.”
She claimed that at least 500 of the caravan migrants have been identified
as “criminals,” without offering up proof or further details on the nature or
origin of the claim.