US judge bars Trump administration from enforcing asylum ban

* A U.S. federal judge barred President Donald Trump’s
administration from refusing asylum to immigrants who cross the
southern border illegally.
* Trump issued the ban this month in response to the caravans of
migrants that have started to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border.

A federal judge barred the Trump administration on Monday 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, tens of thousands of immigrants each year have
shown up in the Arizona desert or on the north bank of the Rio
Grande in Texas, surrendered to immigration agents and requested
asylum. The Department of Homeland Security estimates around 70,000
people a year claim asylum between official ports of entry.

Trump has argued that the recent caravans are a threat to
national security.

Around 3,000 people from the first of the caravans have arrived
in Tijuana, Mexico, across the border from San Diego, California.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Monday that it closed off
northbound traffic for several hours at the San Ysidro crossing. It
has also installed movable, wire-topped barriers, apparently to
stop a potential mass rush of people.

As of Monday, 107 people 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. But many border crossings
such as San Ysidro already have long wait times. People are often
forced to wait in shelters or outdoor camps on the Mexican side,
sometimes for weeks.

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.

Culled from cnbc.com

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