Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration's Sweeping Asylum Restrictions
The Trump administration's most sweeping set of asylum restrictions scheduled to take effect in a matter of days were blocked by a federal judge on Friday.
The asylum restrictions were the administrations most ambitious efforts in restricting access to the U.S. asylum system by making procedural changes, said a report from CBS News.
One of the changes made to the asylum restrictions was a policy requiring migrants to wait in Mexico during the duration of their court cases.
These new asylum restrictions would have broadened the grounds for a judge to deem an application as "frivolous" and virtually prevents asylum protections for applicants in the U.S.
But the Trump administration argued that these changes were necessary to prevent border-crossers from abusing the asylum system and overwhelming with unworthy claims.
The newly proposed regulations were first introduced last summer and were finalized in December, reported ABC 7.
New Asylum Restrictions Make It More Difficult for Asylum-Seekers
The court's order prevented immediate impact on the asylum system as the government largely suspended it at the U.S.-Mexico border due to public health concerns from the coronavirus pandemic.
However, if it does continue to take effect even after pandemic-related safety measures have been lifted, asylum-seekers would still face a difficult time in claiming, said a report from The Associated Press.
As of Saturday, asylum officers were ordered not to "rely upon" the newly blocked rules when they interview migrants, an email obtained by CBS News read.
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Officers will continue to follow existing guidance in procedures when migrants claim asylum, said chief of the asylum division Andrew Davidson.
Judge Believes Homeland Security Secretary Not Allowed to Impose Asylum Restrictions
According to ABC 7, there were several issues raised by US District Court for the District of Columbia Judge James Donato. One of these issues was the 30 days allotted for public comment.
Donato also disagreed with the appointment of the acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf.
Donato sided with advocacy groups who sued for the restrictions, saying Wolf was not under the authority to put the rules into place.
Wolf was put under criticism for allegedly filling in the role unlawfully. Donato wrote that Wolf's appointment process did not follow the established order of succession for the role.
"This Court is now the fifth federal court to be asked to plow the same ground about Wolf's authority vel non to change the immigration regulations," Donato said in his ruling.
He also likened the government's efforts with the asylum system to "crashing the same car into a gate, hoping that someday it might break through."
He added that the government was only using "recycled" legal and factual claims that were already made in previous cases, "as if they had not been soundly rejected in well-reasoned opinions by several courts."
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The new ruling would apply all over the U.S. because putting a limit to it would "result in a fragmented and disjointed patchwork of immigration policy," Donato said.
Donato was appointed to the bench in 2013 by former President Barack Obama.
On the other hand, Wolf was tapped to lead the department in November 2019 after former acting secretary Kevin McAleenan departed the post.
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