Judge Blocks Trump’s Asylum Policy But Delays Enforcement
A U.S. judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration’s policy of returning asylum seekers to Mexico as they wait for an immigration court to hear their cases but the order won’t immediately go into effect.
Judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco granted a request by civil liberties groups to halt the practice while their lawsuit moves forward. He put the decision on hold until Friday to give U.S. officials the chance to appeal.
The launch of the policy in January in San Diego at the nation’s busiest border crossing marked an unprecedented change to the U.S. asylum system, government officials and asylum experts said. Families seeking asylum typically had been released in the U.S. with notices to appear in court.
President Donald Trump’s administration says the policy responds to a crisis at the southern border that has overwhelmed the ability of immigration officials to detain migrants.
The judge also questioned the Justice Department’s argument that asylum seekers sent back to Mexico are not eligible for certain protections, such as a hearing before an immigration judge.
The administration hopes that making asylum seekers wait in Mexico will discourage weak claims and help reduce an immigration court backlog of more than 800,000 cases.
