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The Hill
02-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at southern border
A federal judge on Wednesday blocked President Trump's asylum ban at the southern border, determining it ran afoul of immigration laws protecting the rights of those seeking refuge in the U.S. The decision blocks a Day 1 order from Trump seeking to end asylum for all but those who entered the U.S. at ports of entry – arguing the move was needed to prevent an 'invasion' at the border. But U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss said Trump went beyond his authority in drastically limiting asylum for those fleeing persecution and danger. Moss found Trump's order violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which lays out strict guidelines for who qualifies for asylum and how they can seek the protections – including by crossing between ports of entry. 'Nothing in the INA or the Constitution grants the President or his delegees the sweeping authority asserted in the Proclamation and implementing guidance,' Moss wrote in his 128-page opinion. The judge rejected that Trump had inherent presidential authority over admission decisions into the country, even if federal law didn't give him the power. 'To hold otherwise would render much, if not most, of the INA simply optional,' wrote Moss, an appointee of former President Obama. Moss postponed his ruling for 14 days, which gives the administration an opportunity to ask an appeals court to intervene. The legal battle began in early February, just days into Trump's presidency and soon after he signed the proclamation on Inauguration Day. Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, 13 anonymous asylum seekers sued alongside three immigration nonprofits, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center and the Florence Project. The administration had agreed to not deport any of the 13 individuals as the litigation progresses, but Wednesday's ruling now covers anyone impacted by Trump's proclamation nationwide. The judge's decision does not, however, apply to people already removed from the country. Moss noted those cases pose 'difficult questions' and will be addressed later. A number of migrants who have crossed the border in recent years have done so turn themselves over to Border Protection officials in order to make the claim. But the uptick in those seeking the protections over the last several years has made the process a target for Republicans, who argue the system is being abused. Asylum seekers cannot be granted the protections if they are fleeing what is deemed 'generalized violence' and many who seek the status do not receive it when their case is considered by the Department of Homeland Security or in immigration court. But a yearslong backlog in reviewing such cases means applicants may spend years in the U.S. before their claims are fully weighed. During the first Trump administration, Trump used Title 42 to block migrants from seeking asylum at the border, closing off the process and allowing them to be swiftly expelled instead. Former President Biden kept those same limitations in place for over two years.
The Independent
12-02-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
ACLU sues for access to migrants flown to Guantanamo this month
Civil rights attorneys sued the Trump administration on Wednesday to gain access to detained migrants who they say have been flown to Guantanamo Bay and held there without being able to consult lawyers or speak to relatives. The federal lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., and backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, says this is the first time in U.S. history that the government has detained non-citizens on civil immigration charges at the U.S. naval base in Cuba. 'And it is holding them incommunicado, without access to attorneys, family, or the outside world,' the lawsuit says. For decades, the naval base was primarily used to detain foreigners associated with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. More than 50 detained migrants were transferred there this month and 'effectively disappeared into a black box,' the lawsuit says. 'This isolation is no coincidence. Guantanamo is home to one of the most notorious prisons in the world, used when the U.S. government has attempted to operate in secret, without legal constraint or accountability,' the suit says. The lawsuit's plaintiffs include relatives of three immigrants from Venezuela who were sent to Guantanamo from immigration detention facilities in Texas. The suit accuses government officials of violating their constitutional rights to due process and free speech. The plaintiffs' attorneys are seeking a court order allowing them to meet with the detainees. They also want an order requiring officials to provide the location of a detainee within 24 hours of their transfer to Guantanamo. The first U.S. military flight deporting migrants from the U.S. to Guantanamo landed in Cuba on Feb. 4, according to a U.S. official. It was the first step in an expected surge in the number of migrants sent to the U.S. base. President Donald Trump has said Guantanamo has the capacity to hold as many as 30,000 people. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was assigned to Guantanamo when he was on active duty, has called it a 'perfect place' to house migrants. Approximately 300 service members are supporting the detention operations at Guantanamo. That number is expected to fluctuate. Trump has vowed to deport millions of the estimated 11.7 million people in the U.S. illegally. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Feb. 5 that more than 8,000 people had been arrested in immigration enforcement actions since Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration. The lawsuit's plaintiffs also include four advocacy groups: Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, American Gateways and Americans for Immigrant Justice. They sued the Defense Department, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and their respective department secretaries. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its acting director also are named as defendants. DHS officials didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the suit's allegations. 'It's troubling enough that we are even sending immigrants from the U.S. to Guantanamo, but it's beyond the pale that we are holding them incommunicado, without access to attorneys, family or the outside world,' ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt said in a statement. Attorneys from the Center for Constitutional Rights and the International Refugee Assistance Project also represent the plaintiffs. ___
