CLOSE Despite days of walking, illness, and uncertainty, Honduran native Joel Eduardo Espinar is determined to continue the arduous trek with his wife and children as part of a migrant caravan winding its way through Mexico toward the U.S. border. (Nov 2) AP

Members of the Central American migrant caravan move in the early hours towards their next destination on Nov. 04, 2018 in Isla, Mexico. (Photo: Spencer Platt, Getty Images)

WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union is seeking a court injunction to block President Donald Trump's new restrictions on asylum, arguing in a lawsuit filed Friday that the policy violates federal immigration law.

“The new asylum ban is flatly unlawful and may result in many people being sent back to danger," said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project.

“Neither the President nor the Attorney General may override the immigration laws enacted by Congress,” Gelernt said. The ACLU, along with the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Center for Constitutional Rights, filed the lawsuit on behalf of several refugee and immigrant advocacy groups in federal court in Northern California on Friday.

The Trump administration said the president had acted with "clear legal authority" and blasted the lawsuit as defending the rights of immigrants to enter the U.S. illegally.

"The president has the right to suspend the entry of aliens if he determines it to be in the national interest – and that is what President Trump has done," the Justice and Homeland Security departments said in a joint statement Friday evening.

Trump made the policy official on Friday by signing a proclamation that denies asylum to immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally, rather through a port of entry – a move aimed at a caravan of Central American migrants moving toward the U.S.-Mexico border.

In its legal challenge, the ACLU argues that Trump's move flouts a 1965 law that says any foreigner who arrives in the U.S. – "whether or not at a designated port of arrival" – may apply for asylum. In addition, the suit charges the president with violating a 1946 law that spells out how the Executive Branch can develop and issue regulations.

That administrative law allows courts to nix any actions that are "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law" or contrary to constitutional rights.

“Ever since the horrors of World War II, the world’s nations have committed to giving asylum seekers the opportunity to seek safe haven," said Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. "The Trump administration cannot defy this most elementary humanitarian principle, in violation of U.S. and international law, with a flip of a presidential pen.”

Under the new White House policy, immigrants who enter illegally would be placed into expedited deportation proceedings instead of being granted access to the asylum process, according to a posting by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security on the Federal Register late Thursday.

‘Flooding our country’

“They’re flooding our country, we’re not letting them in. But they’re trying to flood our country," Trump said Friday after signing the proclamation.

Asylum is a form of protection granted to people who fear persecution in their home countries based on their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or their political opinion. From 2000 to 2016, the United States granted asylum to an average of 26,651 foreigners a year, according to Department of Homeland Security data.

Gelernt said there are already long lines at the legal ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border, forcing desperate migrants into extended limbo as they seek to plead their case for asylum. Most of the migrants have already made arduous journeys to reach the U.S. border.

The long waits at legal ports of entry have driven some to attempt illegal crossings and request asylum that way. When the last caravan reached the US in April, 401 presented themselves at ports of entry, as the administration has urged them to do, but 122 entered the country illegally to request asylum, according to data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Trump and other White House officials have claimed there is "rampant abuse" in the nation's asylum system, which saw an increase in claims from 5,000 in 2008 to 97,000 in 2018, mostly fueled by Central Americans fleeing violence and poverty in their home countries.

“Our asylum system is overwhelmed with too many meritless asylum claims from aliens who place a tremendous burden on our resources, preventing us from being able to expeditiously grant asylum to those who truly deserve it,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said in a joint statement on Thursday previewing Friday's proclamation.

On Friday, Trump blamed Democrats for blocking reform that he said was needed to fix "obsolete" and "incompetent" immigration laws.

"They are the worst laws any country has anywhere in the world, and it's only because we don't have the Democrats' votes," he told reporters before leaving for a trip to Paris. "We need Democrat votes so we can change immigration, and we'll have no trouble whatsoever at the border."

Trump restrictions ‘shortsighted’

Rep. Eliot Engel, a New York Democrat who is poised to become chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the next Congress, called Trump’s asylum restrictions “shortsighted.” He said the new Democratic majority will examine Trump’s actions on a broad range of issues, including immigration.

"The president has the wrong attitude when it comes to immigration or new people coming to this country. He’s afraid of them," Engel said. "I don’t know why. We are a nation of immigrants," he added, noting his own grandparents immigrated to the U.S. 110 years ago.

Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, was more blunt.

"The president’s xenophobic effort to exploit the suffering of desperate mothers and children legally seeking asylum is clearly intended for crude political distraction from his own failures," the New Jersey Democrat said.

Trump's policy would create "a bottleneck at ports of entry, which will effectively shut the door on vulnerable individuals seeking asylum," he added. "I refuse to stand by as this administration continues to systematically undermine asylum and refugee protection."

Friday’s action follows several other steps taken by the administration to halt the caravan. The Pentagon dispatched more than 7,000 active-duty military troops to the border. And U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have repositioned agents from around the country to line the southern border to prevent illegal entries.

During a trip to the border, CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said he viewed the oncoming caravan as a "law enforcement situation" and his officers could not speed up the process to interview asylum seekers.

Officials with the departments of Justice and Homeland Security said they are negotiating with Mexico about accepting deported migrants. Mexico has already agreed to grant asylum to immigrants moving north from Central America, largely from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

U.S. officials say that's the preferred location to receive asylum from persecution, but many migrants want to come to the United States.

More: President Trump denies asylum for immigrants at U.S. border who enter outside ports of entry

Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/11/09/donald-trump-migrant-caravan-aclu-federal-court-immigration-immigration-border-central-americans/1940528002/ </s> (Reuters) - Civil rights groups said on Friday they had filed a federal lawsuit challenging the legality of U.S. President Donald Trump’s newly announced restrictions that would effectively bar illegal migrants from Mexico from qualifying for asylum.

The lawsuit in San Francisco federal court by the American Civil Liberties Union, Southern Poverty Law Center and Center for Constitutional Rights seeks an injunction to prevent the administration from implementing the asylum policy.

Trump on Friday signed a proclamation that effectively will suspend the granting of asylum to migrants who cross the U.S. border with Mexico illegally for up to 90 days.

The order, which goes into effect on Saturday, means that migrants will have to present themselves at U.S. ports of entry to qualify for asylum.

Civil rights groups have said that U.S. immigration law clearly allows anyone present in the country to seek asylum, regardless of how they crossed the border.

“President Trump’s new asylum ban is illegal. Neither the president nor his cabinet secretaries can override the clear commands of U.S. law, but that’s exactly what they’re trying to do,” Omar Jadwat of the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement. </s> (WASHINGTON) — The American Civil Liberties Union says it will file a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration to fund a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border.

The Friday announcement came hours after Trump signed the declaration and said he expected legal challenges. The civil rights group will argue that Trump’s use of emergency powers is unprecedented and can’t be used to build a border wall.

ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero says the declaration is ‘patently illegal.’ Their legal action would be separate from anything Congress may do.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (puh-LOH’-see) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have also raised the possibility of legal action. They say Trump’s decision would “shred the Constitution” by usurping Congress’ power to control spending.

White House officials say some of the money would come from military construction projects. </s> ACLU Says It Will Sue Over Trump Emergency Order

WASHINGTON (AP) – The American Civil Liberties Union says it will file a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration to fund a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border.

The Friday announcement came hours after Trump signed the declaration and said he expected legal challenges. The civil rights group will argue that Trump’s use of emergency powers is unprecedented and can’t be used to build a border wall.

ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero says the declaration is ‘patently illegal.’ Their legal action would be separate from anything Congress may do.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have also raised the possibility of legal action. They say Trump’s decision would “shred the Constitution” by usurping Congress’ power to control spending.

White House officials say some of the money would come from military construction projects. </s> • The Trump administration on Thursday took its first steps toward restricting asylum to immigrants who cross the border into the United States illegally.
• The changes are coming as multiple caravans of thousands of Central American migrants make their way to the US through Mexico.
• Many of them have said they intend to request asylum.
• Immigration and civil liberties advocates have repeatedly said that the Trump administration’s efforts will contravene domestic and international law, which allow migrants to seek asylum no matter how they enter.

The Trump administration on Thursday made its first move toward barring asylum to immigrants who cross the border illegally, as President Donald Trump has been promising for weeks ahead of a slow-moving caravan of Central American migrants traveling to the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday released documents outlining the new restrictions, which are set to be published to the Federal Register on Friday morning. The documents say that the changes won’t take effect until Trump issues a proclamation. “Consistent with our immigration laws, the President has the broad authority to suspend or restrict the entry of aliens into the United States if he determines it to be in the national interest to do so,” Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said in a joint statement announcing the changes.

They added: “Today, we are using the authority granted to us by Congress to bar aliens who violate a Presidential suspension of entry or other restriction from asylum eligibility.”

The changes come as multiple caravans of thousands of migrants remain in Mexico, grappling over what route to take to the US-Mexico border. Many of the caravan members have said they intend to seek asylum in the US, though it’s unclear whether they plan to request it after crossing the border illegally or after reaching a legal port of entry.

Immigration and civil liberties advocates have repeatedly said the Trump administration’s efforts will contravene domestic and international law, which allow migrants to seek asylum no matter how they enter.

“US law specifically allows individuals to apply for asylum whether or not they are at a port of entry. It is illegal to circumvent that by agency or presidential decree,” Omar Jadwat of the American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday in a statement.

Read more: Trump rages against migrant caravans in long, bizarre press conference, vows to bar asylum claims from people who cross the border illegally

In a briefing with reporters Thursday afternoon, senior administration officials said the changes were an attempt to “funnel” credible asylum claims through the ports of entry, where border officials would be better equipped to handle the volume.

The senior administration officials also called the current asylum system – which is currently backlogged with roughly 800,000 cases – a “full-fledged and very large crisis.”

They argued that the changes would reduce the amount of illegitimate asylum claims, paving the way for legitimate asylum-seekers to get a fair hearing.

“It’s important just to remind people that those who enter between the ports of entry are knowingly and voluntarily breaking the law. It’s a federal crime. People can and do go to jail for that every single day,” one official said. “While immigration laws do afford people various forms of protection, the reality is that it’s a violation of federal law in the manner that these illegal aliens are entering the country.” </s> WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump and immigration (all times local):

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a legal challenge to President Donald Trump's order denying asylum to migrants if they cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

The lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in San Francisco and argues the new rules are against the law. Attorney Lee Gelernt says the regulations will put families in danger.

The suit seeks to declare the regulations invalid and want a judge to stop rules from going into effect while the litigation is pending.

The new rules were spurred in part by caravans of Central American migrants slowly moving north on foot, but officials say they will apply to anyone caught crossing illegally. Officials say about 70,000 people who enter the country illegally claim asylum.

The order invoked the same national security powers Trump used to push through his travel ban.

President Donald Trump says he hopes a legal battle over an Obama-era program shielding young immigrants from deportation goes to the Supreme Court.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday decided to keep in place an injunction blocking Trump's decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.

Lawsuits by California and others challenging the Trump administration's decision will continue in federal court while the injunction remains in place.

DACA has protected 700,000 people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families that overstayed visas.

The Trump administration has said it moved last year to end DACA because Texas and other states threatened to sue, raising the prospect of a chaotic end to the program.

President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation to deny asylum to migrants who enter the United States illegally through the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump invoked the same national security powers he used to push his travel ban through. He says he wants people to come to the U.S. legally.

The move on Friday was spurred in part by caravans of Central American migrants slowly moving north on foot, but officials say it will apply to anyone caught crossing illegally.

Officials say the measure is meant to funnel asylum seekers through official border crossings for speedy rulings instead of having them try to circumvent such crossings on the nearly 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) stretch.

The busy ports of entry already have long lines and waits, forcing immigration officials to tell some migrants to return to make their claims.

Trump's proclamation puts into practice regulations adopted by immigration officials on Thursday.

The Trump administration says it will deny asylum to migrants who enter the country illegally. The administration is invoking extraordinary presidential national security powers to tighten the border as caravans of Central Americans slowly approach the United States.

The measures are meant to funnel asylum seekers through official border crossings for speedy rulings, officials said, instead of having them try to circumvent such crossings on the nearly 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) border. But the busy ports of entry already have long lines and waits, forcing immigration officials to tell some migrants to come back to make their claims.

The move was spurred in part by caravans of Central American migrants slowly moving north on foot, but officials say it will apply to anyone caught crossing illegally. </s> President Donald Trump declared a national emergency along the southern border and predicted his administration would end up defending it all the way to the Supreme Court.

That might have been the only thing Trump said Friday that produced near-universal agreement.

The American Civil Liberties Union announced its intention to sue less than an hour after the White House released the text of Trump’s declaration.

Nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen has filed suit in federal court. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and several Democratic state attorneys general already have said they might go to court. </s> The University of California has sued the Trump administration over its decision to end a program protecting hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation.The lawsuit filed on Friday in federal court in San Francisco includes university president Janet Napolitano as a plaintiff.Napolitano was Homeland Security secretary under the Obama administration and helped implement its Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.The program protected about 800,000 people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas.The lawsuit says the university will lose students and employees because of President Donald Trump's decision to end the program.An email sent to the U.S. Department of Justice seeking comment was not immediately returned.Fifteen states have sued separately over the president's decision. </s> Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s policy of returning some asylum seekers to Mexico as they wait for their hearings in an American immigration court.

The Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as “Remain in Mexico,” were expanded to include El Paso's ports of entry last month after beginning in California’s San Ysidiro Port of Entry in January.

It was immediately met with a backlash from immigrant rights groups and attorneys who said migrants could be in danger in violent Mexican cities and that being in Mexico makes communicating with their U.S.-based attorneys more challenging.

California-based U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg ordered the Trump administration to halt the program by the end of the week. He put his ruling on hold until Friday to allow the government time to seek a stay of his order, but in his 27-page order Seeborg said that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of their claims.

“While the precise degree of risk and specific harms that plaintiffs might suffer in this case may be debatable, there is no real question that it includes the possibility of irreparable injury," the judge wrote.

The ruling is yet another blow – at least temporarily – to a White House that has put forth multiple policies to stem the tide of asylum seekers. It also comes a day after the resignation of former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen, who was reportedly pushed out after the president blamed her for being unable to stop the flow of asylum seekers.

The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center and Center for Gender and Refugee Studies. They argued the policy violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Administrative Procedure Act and international human rights protocols not to return people to dangerous countries.

“The court strongly rejected the Trump administration’s unprecedented and illegal policy of forcing asylum seekers to return to Mexico without hearing their claims,” Judy Rabinovitz, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said in a statement. "Try as it may, the Trump administration cannot simply ignore our laws in order to accomplish its goal of preventing people from seeking asylum in the United States.”

As of Friday, 169 migrants had been returned to Mexico from Texas, according to Enrique Valenzuela, the director of Ciudad Juárez’s Centro de Atención a Migrantes, a migrant transition facility operated by the Chihuahua state government.

Rabinovitz told the Tribune that asylum seekers who have already been returned to Mexico under the program won’t be required to return there after their first court appearance in the United States. But it’s unclear whether they will be able to return to the United States earlier than that.

“They cannot be sent back to Mexico, assuming this injunction holds,” she said. “But we’re going to have to explore if there is some way to get them relief sooner [than the court date].”
The American Civil Liberties Union files a lawsuit in response to President Trump's proclamation that denies asylum to immigrants who enter the country illegally.