Share

Trump administration appeals ruling over asylum policy

Share

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Trump administration on Wednesday appealed a judge’s ruling that would block the government from returning asylum seekers to Mexico to await court hearings.

The one-sentence appeal filed in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not immediately ask to stop the lower court ruling from going into effect Friday.

Judge Richard Seeborg has given the government until the end of the week to ask for a stay of Monday’s ruling, in which he granted a request by civil liberties groups to halt the practice while their lawsuit moves forward.

The administration’s policy violated U.S. law by failing to adequately evaluate dangers migrants face in Mexico, Seeborg said. He said a law cited by government officials did not apply to the 11 asylum seekers who sued.

The U.S. took the unprecedented action at the nation’s busiest border crossing — in San Diego — in response to growing numbers of families fleeing poverty and gang violence in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

Trending:
KJP Panics, Hangs Up in Middle of Interview When Reporter Shows He Isn't a Democratic Party Propagandist

About 1,000 migrants have been sent back to Mexico since the policy went into effect in January and was later expanded across the California border and to West Texas.

Families seeking asylum that typically would have been released in the U.S. with notices to appear in court were instead sent back to Mexico to await their hearings.

The administration had hoped the move would discourage weak asylum claims and help reduce an immigration court backlog of more than 800,000 cases.

Under the new policy, asylum seekers were not guaranteed interpreters or lawyers and couldn’t argue to a judge that they face the potential of persecution or torture in Mexico, the American Civil Liberties Union argued.

The San Francisco ruling came up Wednesday at a case in El Paso, Texas, where lawyers for a Salvadoran man who said he had been threatened in Mexico asked for permission to stay in the U.S. while his case proceeds.

A Homeland Security attorney assured the judge that the man would not be sent back to Mexico, even though the California court decision doesn’t take effect until Friday.

President Donald Trump had criticized the ruling as unfair. His administration has said it’s trying to cope with a crisis at the southern border.

While Border Patrol arrests, the most widely used gauge of illegal crossings, have risen sharply over the last year, they are relatively low in historical terms after hitting a 46-year low in 2017.

The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.

Truth and Accuracy

Submit a Correction →



We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:
Share
The Associated Press is an independent, not-for-profit news cooperative headquartered in New York City. Their teams in over 100 countries tell the world’s stories, from breaking news to investigative reporting. They provide content and services to help engage audiences worldwide, working with companies of all types, from broadcasters to brands. Photo credit: @AP on Twitter
The Associated Press was the first private sector organization in the U.S. to operate on a national scale. Over the past 170 years, they have been first to inform the world of many of history's most important moments, from the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the bombing of Pearl Harbor to the fall of the Shah of Iran and the death of Pope John Paul.

Today, they operate in 263 locations in more than 100 countries relaying breaking news, covering war and conflict and producing enterprise reports that tell the world's stories.
Location
New York City




Conversation