Cartoon by Dario Castillejos
The Trump Administration’s Plan to Effectively End Asylum Is Almost Certainly Illegal
Vox: Tens of thousands of asylum-seekers have set up encampments in cities along the U.S.-Mexico border, where they’ve been forced to wait for weeks before they can formally enter the United States to plead asylum. But now, many of them won’t be able to try at all.
The Trump administration implemented a new rule Tuesday that will effectively end asylum protections for the hundreds of thousands of migrants who pass through another country on their way to the U.S. Migrants will now be required to apply for — and be denied — asylum protections in another country before they can apply for relief in the U.S.
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Administration officials have framed the rule, which has reportedly been in the works for months, as a way of disincentivizing “meritless” asylum claims and alleviating the growing backlog of immigration cases. But experts and immigration advocates say the rule is illegal because it violates the asylum protocols issued by Congress. The American Civil Liberties Union has already threatened to “sue swiftly” to prevent the rule from going into effect.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, migrants can be denied asylum if they were “firmly resettled” in another country before arriving in the U.S. And migrants who pass through a “safe third country” can already be denied asylum in the U.S. if they didn’t apply in the other country first. A “safe third country” is one that has agreed to a treaty with the U.S. to process asylum seekers who arrive there first. Canada is the only country that has agreed to this status.
But the Trump administration’s new rule takes that policy a step further: Migrants will now be denied asylum if they pass through any other country, even ones that haven’t agreed to safe third country status, on their way to the U.S.
“No one could credibly argue that it is safe for asylum-seekers in Mexico or in Guatemala,” said Tom Jawetz, vice president of immigration policy at the Center for American Progress. “Moreover, there is no way in which you could argue that simply transiting through a country would constitute being ‘firmly resettled.’”
In effect, the new rule will forbid almost all migrants who arrive at the southern border from applying for asylum protections, with a few exceptions. Migrants who applied for (and were denied) asylum elsewhere can still apply. So can victims of human trafficking. The “credible fear” interview — the first step in applying for asylum — will only be given to migrants who meet these exceptions.
People who fly to the U.S. and plead for asylum in airports won’t be affected by the new rule — but most foreign citizens need visas to travel to the U.S., which most asylum-seekers wouldn’t qualify for anyway >>>
To all I-Rainian Americans : If you don't like America you are always more than welcome to go back to that magnificent beautiful safe healthy wealthy fun loving living country of yours called, I-Ran or Perrrrrrssssia!!!
A true character of a charlatan
to sew division for personal benefit
Our politicians had resisted pissing on the office of Presidency, tRump fixed that.
tRump is helping to make Russia great again
Embrace BDS movement and Reject occupation, If the bar code starts with 7 29 put it back on the shelf
Buy American, say NO to Chinese madeTrump
“The time is always right to do what is right” – Martin Luther King
Trump really should have directed those comments and actually include some of the "sineh zanan" e Iran and IRI on this site and kinds gotten into action about it right away...
Adios mofos...go back to Eyran and make a beeuuuteefoool cunt ry out of it instead of saying chert o pert.
Hey Golan Bob!
this is America! We work hard and play hard. Our women are free. We re free to say and do what we want within law! We have elected this president and we love him! We love our natural and historical ally Israel and in particular its current premiere BIBi! We don’t want a bunch of Muslim savages who believe chopping some dudes head and raping his wife and then blowing yourself up killing a bunch of lovely innocent kids would get you a direct first class ticket to allahs heaven !
dont like it? Then get out of America instead of sitting behind that keyboard 24 /7 moaning about America and it’s great president!
Does anyone know why the lovely president Obama was labeled the “deporter in chief?”
I mean the same Obama who deported more illegal immigrants than any other US president in the history of the United States.
Like a true Basiiji mentality, my way or highway.
Khoda khar o shenakht behesh shakh nadad.
Even with Putin's help, majority of Americans rejected the charlatan and voted for the other candidate, even though we had a very unpopular candidate.
Our politicians had resisted pissing on the office of Presidency, tRump fixed that.
tRump is helping to make Russia great again
Embrace BDS movement and Reject occupation, If the bar code starts with 7 29 put it back on the shelf
Buy American, say NO to Chinese madeTrump
“The time is always right to do what is right” – Martin Luther King