A federal judge invalidated a rule on Tuesday that permits immigration officials to refuse asylum to migrants who cross the border into the United States from Mexico without first submitting an online application or looking for protection in the nation they went through. However, the judge gave the administration of President Joe Biden time to file an appeal before his decision became effective right away.
As the coronavirus-based restrictions on asylum expired in May, the Biden administration removed a crucial enforcement weapon through an order by U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar of the Northern District of California.
The new regulation places harsh restrictions on anyone seeking asylum, but it also allows for exceptions and exempts children who are traveling alone. In an order that won’t go into effect for another two weeks, Tigar stated that “The Rule, which has been in place for two months, cannot remain in place.”
The order was promptly appealed by the Justice Department, which also requested that it be suspended while the matter is being heard. The agency stated that it is convinced the rule is legitimate. Immigration rights organizations that filed a lawsuit against the rule praised the judge’s ruling.
The American Civil Liberties Union’s Katrina Eiland, who argued the case, said in a statement: “The promise of America is to serve as a beacon of freedom and hope, and the administration can and should do better to fulfill this promise, rather than perpetuate cruel and ineffective policies that betray it.”
The ACLU and other organizations claimed the regulation went against a US law that safeguards the right to asylum regardless of a person’s method of entry.
The organizations claimed that this drives people to go for safety in nations with weaker human rights laws and asylum systems than the United States. They also stated that the CBP One app, which the government wants immigrants to use, is lacking in appointments and language options.
The government has maintained that the safety nets in other nations that migrants pass through had been strengthened. However, Tigar emphasized that given the violence that many migrants encounter in particular in Mexico, it is impractical for some migrants to seek safety in a nation of transit.
The tweet below confirms the news:
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked a rule that allows immigration authorities to deny asylum to migrants who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through. https://t.co/GlrB0A0cEn
— FOX 5 San Diego (@fox5sandiego) July 25, 2023
The judge, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, stated that asylum seekers “must remain in Mexico while they wait for an adjudication, where migrants are generally at heightened risk of violence by both state and non-state actors.”
Additionally, he claimed that the rule is unconstitutional because it assumes that everyone who enters the nation outside of authorized border crossings is ineligible for asylum. However, Tigar noted that Congress explicitly stated that this should not have an impact on a person’s eligibility for asylum.
The judge also disregarded the administration’s claims that there should be consideration for the fact that it had offered alternative routes for people to enter the country.
According to the administration, if migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela have a sponsor and fly into the United States, the program enables up to 30,000 migrants every month. The judge pointed out that not all migrants have access to these routes.
Asylum Seekers Face “Serious Risk of Violence” in Mexico
The Biden administration also claimed that by using the CBP One app, it was potentially allowing hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter the country. The software allows migrants to set up appointments to appear at the border and apply for asylum as well as entrance into the United States.
Asylum seekers are forced to wait in Mexico where they face a “serious risk of violence” because demand exceeds the 1,450 appointments that are now available daily, according to Tigar.
The Biden administration said that the asylum rule was a crucial component of their plan to balance strict border enforcement with providing migrants with a number of options for pursuing legitimate asylum claims.
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Total interactions along the southern border, which include migrants who either arrived at a port of entry or attempted to pass between them, were 30% lower in June than in May, according to Customs and Border Protection. It was the lowest monthly total since February 2021, according to the agency.
The rule, according to critics, is effectively an updated version of President Donald Trump’s initiatives to restrict asylum at the southern border.
Trump mocked Tigar as an “Obama judge” after Tigar disagreed with a Trump administration directive that said applicants for asylum may only do so at designated border crossing points. That initiative was derailed by litigation and never materialized.
Additionally, Tigar rejected the Trump administration’s attempts to restrict refuge to those who don’t seek protection in a nation they pass through on their way to the United States. That was ultimately permitted by the Supreme Court.
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