“… aliens who enter the United States unlawfully through the southern border in contravention of this proclamation will be ineligible to be granted asylum …”
This is an excerpt from a Proclamation declared on November 9, 2018 and enforcement halted by Judge Jon Tigar on November 19, just 10 days later. Trump lasted out at the judge calling him an “Obama judge” and then attacked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals as being biased against his administration. When asked for his comment by the Associated Press, Chief Justice Roberts responded:
“We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges. What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them. That independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.”
The Proclamation certainly looked illegal because the law clearly stated that all aliens may apply, either when they are in the country or at a port of entry. The ACLU and other organizations sued the Department of Justice on the same day of the Proclamation. The core of the argument seems to be a word game between being able to apply and being eligible for asylum. Nobody in their right mind would submit any application knowing there is an automatic rejection. According to CNN, the judge ruled:
Judge Jon S. Tigar of the US District Court for the Northern District of California said that a policy announced November 9 barring asylum for immigrants who enter outside a legal check point ‘”irreconcilably conflicts” with immigration law and the “expressed intent of Congress.” “Whatever the scope of the President’s authority, he may not rewrite the immigration laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressly forbidden,” Tigar wrote, adding that asylum seekers would be put at “increased risk of violence and other harms at the border” if the administration’s rule is allowed to go into effect.
I have included the entire restraining order (47 pages) in the links. The “threshold issues” address whether it is appropriate for the immigration organizations to bring this case to the court. On Page 17, line 25, the Judge lays the rationale for the restraining order. The temporary restraining order lasts until December 19, when a new hearing is scheduled.
Trump exaggerates the dangers of illegal immigration from the southern borders all the time. He can’t use this threat (real or imagined) to extend his authority over the powers of the legislature and legal system.
Stay tuned,
Dave
Links;
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