Trump officials seek to overturn lower court rulings that found executive order banning asylum applications illegal
The US supreme court agreed on Friday to consider Donald Trump’s ban on asylum at the US-Mexico border, a pillar of the Republican president’s far-reaching crackdown on immigration.
The Trump administration wants to overturn lower court decisions that found the executive order banning asylum applications is illegal.
Federal law gives people the right to seek asylum if they fear persecution in their home countries, no matter how they arrived in the US.
At the same time, it also allows the executive branch to decide whether people are granted asylum. The Trump administration argues it can categorically deny asylum to migrants covered by the order and should not have to accept applications destined to be rejected.
Federal attorneys say years-long processing times had previously contributed to an influx of migrants at the southern border as many were released into the country while awaiting a decision.
But immigration attorneys at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and National Immigrant Justice Center counter that border crossings were already falling before Trump took office.
They say his executive order is an attempt to unilaterally “eviscerate” legal protections aimed at protecting people fleeing danger in their home countries.
