The Trump administration was on Monday banned by a federal judge from refusing asylum to immigrants who cross the southern border illegally.
U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar issued a temporary restraining order after hearing arguments in San Francisco. The request was made by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights, which quickly sued after President Donald Trump issued the ban this month in response to the caravans of migrants that have started to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump issued a proclamation on Nov. 9 that said anyone who crossed the southern border would be ineligible for asylum. The regulations, which will remain in place for three months absent a court order, could potentially make it harder for thousands of people who enter the U.S. to avoid deportation.
“Individuals are entitled to asylum if they cross between ports of entry,” said Baher Azmy, a lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights. “It couldn’t be clearer.”
In recent years, thousands of immigrants have sown up at Arizona desert or on the north bank of the Rio Grande in Texa each years, surrendered to immigration agents and requested asylum. The Department of Homeland Security Approximately 70,000 people a year claim asylum between official ports of entry, the Department of Homeland Security estimates.
Trump has expressed concern saying that the recent caravans are a threat to national security. About 3 000 people who were from the first caravan arrived in Tijuana, Mexico on Tuesday across the border from San Diego, California.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Monday that northbound traffic was closed off for several hours at the San Ysidro crossing. It has also installed movable, wire-topped barriers, in an attempt to stop a potential mass rush of people.
107 people, as of Monday, detained between official crossings have sought asylum since Trump’s order went into effect, according to DHS, which oversees Customs and Border Protection. Officials didn’t say whether those people’s cases were still progressing through other avenues left to them after the proclamation.
DHS has said it wants asylum seekers at the southern border to appear at an official border crossing. However, many border crossings like San Ysidro already have long waiting periods. People are usually forced to wait in shelters or outdoor camps on the Mexican side.
ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt said that some people seeking asylum cross between official ports because “they’re in real danger,” either in their countries of origin or in Mexico.
“We don’t condone people entering between ports of entry, but Congress has made the decision that if they do, they still need to be allowed to apply for asylum,” he said.
AP
