Judge issues temporary restraining order on Trump asylum policy

A federal judge has temporarily halted a Trump administration policy to bar asylum seekers entry into the United States unless they appear at certain physical entry points on the southern border.

“The rule barring asylum for immigrants who enter the country outside a port of entry irreconcilably conflicts with the [Immigration and Naturalization Act] 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,” said Judge Jon S. Tigar of the United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

“Congress has clearly commanded in the INA that any alien who arrives in the United States, irrespective of that alien’s status, may apply for asylum –‘whether or not at a designated port of arrival,’” Tigar said, citing part of the federal code that applies to asylum requests.

An interim rule issued earlier this month from the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security said that aliens were categorically ineligible for asylum “if the alien is subject to a presidential proclamation or other presidential order suspending or limiting the entry of aliens along the southern border with Mexico … on or after November 9, 2018 and the alien enters the United States after the effective date of the proclamation or order contrary to the terms of the proclamation or order.”

The agencies also said that military, foreign affairs and other needs exempted them from the normal Administrative Procedure Act requirements for public notice and comments about the rules changes.

President Donald Trump has issued the proclamation claiming presidential powers under the INA to restrict border entries.

Judge Tigar’s order is a nationwide injunction on the asylum policy, remaining in effect for the next month.