Federal Judge Blocks Biden's New Border Policy After Challenge from ACLU
There is more bad news for the Biden administration.
On Tuesday, a U.S. federal judge in California blocked a new rule aimed at limiting asylum access along the U.S.-Mexico border, overturning a crucial aspect of President Joe Biden’s failing strategy to try and control the ongoing illegal immigration crisis — particularly after the COVID-era Title 42 restrictions ceased in May, Reuters reported.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar came as a response to a legal challenge initiated by the American Civil Liberties Union and other left-wing advocacy groups, resurrecting a 2018 case that had been filed against similar asylum restrictions imposed by the Trump administration.
The regulations had come into effect on May 11 following the end of Title 42.
The rule stated the presumption is that most migrants are not eligible for asylum if they traveled through other countries without first seeking protection there or if they refused to employ legal pathways for entering the United States.
Following the implementation of the said regulation, there has been a decline in the number of migrants caught crossing the border illegally, although the numbers are still incredibly high, The New York Times reported.
Whether this trend will now persist remains uncertain.
In a 35-page ruling, Tigar, an Obama appointee, emphasized that U.S. law explicitly indicates that crossing the border illegally should not serve as a barrier to seeking asylum, according to Reuters.
Tigar argued that finding refuge in a countries such as Belize, Mexico or Colombia would be “infeasible” due to their lack of processing capacity.
He also claimed that U.S. law only allows for restricting migrants’ access to asylum if they pass through a country that genuinely provides a safe option.
Contrary to the Biden administration’s stance, which claimed that migrants could enter the U.S. from abroad through various programs — such as the one for certain migrants with U.S. sponsors — Tigar said these programs were not accessible to everyone and were “irrelevant to the availability of asylum.”
U.S. officials recently informed migrants at the border that they can use an app named CBP One to request a designated time to approach a legal crossing. The administration allocates 1,450 appointments daily for individuals in central and northern Mexico.
Tigar also expressed concern that “migrants waiting in Mexico are at serious risk of violence.”
The legal challenge was originally brought by the ACLU as part of their campaign to allow unfettered access through the southern border.
“Each day the Biden administration prolongs the fight over its illegal ban, many people fleeing persecution and seeking safe harbor for their families are instead left in grave danger,” said Katrina Eiland, the group’s lead attorney.
Secretary of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who Republicans have threatened to impeach over his refusal to handle the immigration crisis, defended the regulations and urged people not to buy into the narratives put out by people human traffickers, according to Politico.
“Do not believe the lies of smugglers. Those who fail to use one of the many lawful pathways we have expanded will be presumed ineligible for asylum,” Reuters reported.
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