According to a recent CNN article, a federal judge in the District of Columbia ruled that a Trump Administration policy violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). In this policy, the Administration sought to bar immigrants who had crossed the border without authorization from seeking asylum. The Trump Administration issued the policy back in November 2018, which would have limited asylum applications to those immigrants who lawfully presented themselves at official ports of entry into the U.S. According to the judge’s opinion, the federal government could not extinguish a statutory right to seek asylum under the INA simply by issuing a policy.
A nationwide injunction that prohibited the policy from going into effect has been in place since a California federal judge issued it last year. The federal government appealed the injunction to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the high Court refused to stay the injunction by a 5-4 vote. So as a practical matter, the D.C. judge’s decision ultimately follows the injunction already in effect.
This policy has been one of many that the Trump Administration has attempted to enact to significantly restrict the ability to apply for asylum, especially for Central American migrants. For instance, the Administration has expanded a policy designed to keep more asylum seekers in Mexico until their cases are processed. The federal government now has limited the number of asylum seekers who can enter a port of entry each day for processing of their asylum applications. The Trump Administration also attempted to deny asylum to all migrants who traveled through another country to reach a U.S. port of entry and to require them to first seek asylum in another country before coming to the U.S. These policies were specifically aimed at individuals traveling through Mexico from South America.
A California federal district court judge also entered a nationwide injunction regarding the requirement that migrants seek asylum in another country before seeking it in the U.S. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals limited the injunction to California and Arizona. On remand, the federal district court judge reinstated the nationwide ban after making the findings outlined in the Ninth Circuit order. However, most recently, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the injunction pending litigation, which allows the federal government to go forward with denying asylum to this specific group of immigrants.
An experienced Texas immigration attorney can help you with all aspects of immigration law. We are here to evaluate the facts surrounding your case and present your options. Finally, we can help you make the decisions that will be most beneficial to you, based on your circumstances. Contact Peek Law Group at (512) 399-2311 today and see how we can help.