In victories for immigrant, civil, and human rights advocates, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday issued two rulings hitting the Trump administration’s attempts to obliterate the U.S. asylum system, including a decision blocking the inhumane and illegal Remain in Mexico policy, finding it “likely violated federal immigration law by ousting undocumented asylum seekers who are supposed to be allowed to apply for protection inside the United States,” The Washington Post reported.
The court further said that Remain in Mexico—officially called Migrant Protection Protocols, even though it’s provided no protections to the 60,000 people who’ve been shut out of the U.S.—“likely violated the United States’ ‘non-refoulement’ obligations under international and domestic law, which prohibit the U.S. government from sending people to a country where they could face persecution,” The Washington Post continued. “The 57-page ruling cited multiple examples of Central American asylum seekers who feared kidnapping, threats and violence in Mexico.”
In a second ruling on Friday, “The same three-judge panel issued a separate 3-0 ruling blocking Trump’s first so-called asylum ban, which aimed to bar immigrants who crossed the border illegally from seeking asylum. The policy was temporarily halted in 2018,” The Washington Post reported. The judge in that case excoriated the administration in his ruling, writing, "Whatever the scope of the president's authority, he may not rewrite the immigration laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressly forbidden. Asylum seekers will be put at increased risk of violence and other harms at the border, and many will be deprived of meritorious asylum claims."
The administration will no doubt keep fighting to keep enforcing its hatred of vulnerable children and families as litigation continues, with the right-wing Supreme Court showing itself to be a willing friend in assisting the administration in its anti-immigrant, anti-asylum crackdown. Advocates nevertheless celebrated the victory, with American Civil Liberties Union attorney Judy Rabinovitz saying, “The court forcefully rejected the Trump administration’s assertion that it could strand asylum seekers in Mexico and subject them to grave danger. It’s time for the administration to follow the law and stop putting asylum seekers in harm’s way.”
It was just this week that members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, medical professionals, and legal advocates held an event condemning policies like Remain in Mexico, saying, “In the last year, approximately 60,000 people seeking safety in our country have been turned away under this policy. They’ve been forced to wait months, living in shelters and tent camps … many migrants become sick while waiting, or can’t access legal services for their cases. That is the point,” Hispanic Caucus chair Joaquin Castro continued. “That’s the purpose of Remain in Mexico, to deny these asylum-seekers due process and safety in the United States of America.”
