A federal judge has ruled against one of the latest key features of the Trump administration’s consistently anti-immigrant immigration policy. Specifically, Judge Timothy Kelly, who works on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, overturned a Trump administration rule blocking the majority of asylum-seekers who arrive at the southern U.S. border. The rule prohibited asylum claims from individuals who’d traveled from another country through Mexico to reach the U.S., mandating that these individuals seek asylum outside of the U.S.
Judge Kelly ruled against the rule on account of the Trump administration’s disregard of the administrative procedure law that demands advance notice of a rules change and an opportunity for comments from members of the public. The judge, who was actually appointed by Trump himself, wrote that the “procedures are not a mere formality.” He also noted, referring to the pro-immigrant advocates who brought the case against the rule, that “plaintiffs will expend more resources and face more difficulties in representing clients for which the rule applies,” as CNN summarizes.
Separately, Kelly also noted that his ruling meant to overturn the asylum restrictions won’t have an immediately system-changing effect since travel is already restricted due to the Coronavirus. He wrote:
‘Indeed, that recent pandemic-related administrative action appears to have effectively closed the southern border indefinitely to aliens seeking asylum only underscores that vacatur of the Rule will not result in prohibitively disruptive consequences.’
Hardy Vieux, who works with the group Human Rights First, praised Kelly’s ruling, commenting:
‘Judge Kelly’s ruling is proof that the administration cannot do an end run around the law. In the United States of America, we follow the rule of law, even when it benefits asylum-seekers demonized by this administration.’
Previously, the Supreme Court had allowed the asylum restrictions to go into effect during the appeals process. The Trump administration might appeal Judge Kelly’s decision.
Attorney General Bill Barr had melodramatically claimed at one point that the United States “is a generous country but is being completely overwhelmed by the burdens associated with apprehending and processing hundreds of thousands of aliens along the southern border.” His claims that the U.S. system was being “overwhelmed” are not entirely credible, since he’s established his penchant for politicization in many other circumstances. In reality, the Trump administration could have stopped trying to detain so many asylum-seekers, and/or poured more resources into adequately providing for the people whose cases that the U.S. does process. Instead, the Trump administration has stuck to fearmongering.
Trump has repeatedly complained about asylum-seekers and the most basic steps to protect them. All the way back in late 2018, he commented:
‘There are a lot of CRIMINALS in the Caravan. We will stop them. Catch and Detain! Judicial Activism, by people who know nothing about security and the safety of our citizens, is putting our country in great danger. Not good!’
There’s no evidence of some kind of widespread criminality in the so-called caravan that Trump was referring to at the time, which constituted a large group of people heading towards the U.S. and seeking asylum. Trump has consistently tried to depict immigrants as a criminal threat, but Trump’s claims are racist nonsense.
There are a lot of CRIMINALS in the Caravan. We will stop them. Catch and Detain! Judicial Activism, by people who know nothing about security and the safety of our citizens, is putting our country in great danger. Not good!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 21, 2018
