Jon Tigar

Supreme Court ruling on Asylum

by Dave

Trump and the DOJ decided it could make it much harder for immigrants to apply for asylum,  by refusing to approve applications by illegal immigrants from within the country.   I’ve commented on this before.  The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals barred the Trump administration from enforcing the policy.   Trump attacked the court as biased against the Trump administration.  Those opposed to this policy seemed to be on pretty solid ground, as the applicable immigration law stated that both immigrants within the country illegally and those outside the country have the right to apply for asylum.

The government’s case seems to hing on the right to apply does not mean the government must approve applications.   But this seems absurd, as who would ever apply, knowing the application would go straight into the garbage without any consideration.  The applicant likely would face deportation.    It is also contended that the government needed a tougher policy, as there was a crisis at the border with the terribly exaggerated  caravan story.

The circuit court barred the asylum policy to be implemented and the Trump administration appealed, asking the Supreme Court to lift the bar, so they could continue the new policy as the case was being appealed.    They lost in a 5 to 4 ruling, where all liberal judges (Brennan, Ginsburg, Kagan, Sotomayor) were joined by Chief Justice Roberts in denying the government’s motion.  The case will be heard next year in the Supreme Court.  By the time this gets to the Supreme Court, the caravan invasion saga will be history, weakening the argument that Trump needs extraordinary powers to protect our country.   I predict Trump will lose on the principle that the Executive branch can’t overrule Congress.

Justice Ginsburg cast her vote with the majority, then went to the hospital to remove two cancerous growths in her lungs.  By all reports, the operation went successfully.  The recent fall in her office, resulting in fracture ribs, prove to be a very fortuitous event as follows (CNN reporting):

If the justice hadn’t fractured her ribs, Liu said, it’s possible that doctors wouldn’t have found the nodules and that they might have gotten larger. It is unclear from the court’s statement how long the nodules were there or how quickly they had grown.

The court is adjourned for the rest of the year, and I wish Justice Ginsburg a speedy recovery.   She is incredibly resilient!

Stay tuned,

Dave

Links

http://www.scotusblog.com/2018/12/justices-rebuff-government-on-asylum-ban/#more-278070

http://www.scotusblog.com/2018/12/ginsburg-has-cancerous-growths-removed-from-lung/

 

The 10 day Asylum Proclamation

by Dave

“… 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;

Trump’s Proclamation

Order-granting-temporary-restraining-order

CNN: Judge blocks Trump administration from denying asylum claims to immigrants who cross border illegally