Supreme Court Authorizes Trump to Deny Asylum to Central Americans
Supreme Court Authorizes Trump to Deny Asylum to Central Americans https://www.wsj.com/articles/supreme-court-authorizes-trump-to-deny-asylum-to-central-americans-11568241204
WASHINGTON—The Trump administration can deny asylum to Central Americans who cross through to the U.S., the Supreme Court said Wednesday, giving new life to White House efforts to deter a flood of immigrants seeking refuge at the southern border.
The court’s action, which came in a brief written order, effectively set interim rules that allow the administration to enforce its asylum restrictions while legal challenges to the policy continue, a process that could last many months. The high court’s order stayed the effect of lower court injunctions that barred the administration’s plans. One of those injunctions was issued just this week by a federal judge in California.
The policy, one of several measures the Trump administration has taken to deter immigration from Latin America, demands that refugees seek asylum in a safe country they enter before reaching the U.S. The rules effectively cut off most asylum claims by people coming from El Salvador, Guatemala or Honduras.
In papers filed with the Supreme Court, the administration argued that the rule was necessary to ease the “crushing burden” a surge of asylum seekers has imposed on the U.S. immigration system.
The policy “screens out asylum seekers who declined to request protection at the first opportunity,” and thus “deters aliens without a genuine need for asylum from making the arduous and potentially dangerous journey from Central America to the United States,” the government argued.
Blocking the rule “impairs the security of our border, perpetuates a crushing burden on our asylum system, and impedes ongoing diplomatic negotiations” with foreign countries such as Mexico, the administration argued.