In the span of just two days, the Trump administration’s move to restrict protections for asylum-seekers who cross through Mexico has gone from blocked, to only partially blocked, to blocked, to once again only partially blocked. Late Tuesday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals put a temporary hold on a Monday ruling by federal Judge Jon Tigar that blocked Asylum Ban 2.0 nationwide.
”The temporary hold implemented while the appeals court considers a longer stay essentially restores the legal situation that existed prior to this week, with Trump’s policy blocked only in the Ninth Circuit, which includes the border regions of California and Arizona,” Politico reports.
This latest decision means the Trump administration can, for now, continue blocking protections for vulnerable Central Americans and others who ask for asylum in the New Mexico and Texas border regions. Notes Politico, “The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to step in on an emergency basis to allow officials to carry out the Trump policy as announced in July. The high court has yet to rule on that request.”
Asylum Ban 2.0, coupled with policies such as “Remain in Mexico,” represents a full assault on the legal right to ask for asylum. Under the latter policy, as many as 42,000 asylum-seekers have now been forced to Mexico to wait out their cases, many to areas where violence and kidnappings are common.
The administration now plans to open up “tent courts” in Texas, where 20 judges are expected to handle over 4,600 cases, Reuters reported. On Tuesday, the administration opened up the first of those hearings but blocked the public from them. “This is unacceptable,” tweeted Charanya Krishnaswami of Amnesty International. “What is DHS hiding?”