Judge Blocks Trump's Asylum Policy But Delays Enforcement

Speaker 1: 00:00 This is KPBS mid day edition. I'm worrying Cavenaugh another of president Trump's efforts to keep asylum seekers out of the u s has been halted by a federal judge and injunction has been ordered against the new policy of requiring Central American asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their claim goes through court. The judge found the policy as initiated by homeland security was beyond the scope of its administrative powers and did not address the risks faced by the asylum seeker plaintiffs, but the injunction will not take effect until this Friday giving the government a chance to appeal. Joining me as KPBS border reporter, Gene Guerrero. Jeanne, welcome. Hey Maureen, what did the plaintiffs in this lawsuit, the asylum seekers who were sent back to Mexico, what did they claim was illegal about this policy? So there's 11 plaintiffs, all of them, Central American. And, and again, I just want to point out that this was a pilot program that does not apply it to Mexicans. Speaker 1: 00:57 But these plaintiffs say that there were violations primarily of the Immigration and Nationality Act through, there's a statute that the federal government was relying on that says that the United States can return people to a next door country from which they came. But the plaintiffs argue that this does not apply to asylum seekers. So it because they fear for their lives, it does not apply to them. They also claimed that there were violations of international law that specifically bars countries from removing people to a place where they fear persecution. So that was one of the other main concerns. And finally there was also violations of the administrative procedure act. So allegedly the government didn't, did not seek public comment for this sweeping change. Now, what are some of the stories they told in court about the hardship of this policy? So there was one plaintiff who claimed he was kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel on his way to the u s Mexico border. Speaker 1: 01:53 That's not unusual for migrants from Central America to be targeted by these criminal organizations. He says that he escaped, but that he fears that this cartel, we'll track him to the border, to Tijuana as he waits in Mexico. He also says that he expressed his fears of returning to Mexico, to the u s customs officer, and was then referred to an asylum officer to talk about this sphere, but was returned to anyway. There's other hardships that people talk about. For example, not being able to communicate with lawyers in the United States from Mexico, not being able to find places to sleep because of the lack of shelters in Tijuana. So just a, a number of different hardships that they face. Do we know how many asylum seekers have been affected by this policy? Nearly a thousand people so far. So this was launched in late January at the San Ysidro port of entry, and it was later expanded to Calexico parts of Texas areas between the ports. Speaker 1: 02:50 First it was focused on individuals, but then it expanded to families as well. Um, and essentially what's happening is that instead of being detained in the United or released on parole with a gps monitoring ankle bracelet, they are returned to Mexico while their asylum proceedings unfold. Now, this federal judge made it clear in his ruling that he was not determining whether Congress ultimately had the right to make asylum seekers wait outside the u s it's just he questioned whether homeland security had the right to make that determination. Isn't that right? That's right. So this is about specifically the federal government, the Department of Homeland Security, and whether it is the agency is using its power correctly. And what the judge determined is that it was not, and that the administration was when smore attempting to bypass Congress, the judge said that within 48 hours of this injunction going into effect that the plaintiffs in the lawsuit could reenter the u s what about the other asylum seekers sent back to wait in Mexico? Speaker 1: 03:51 So it's still unclear what's going to happen to these hundreds of other people who have already been returned to Mexico. It looks like when they come into the United States for their next hearing, which could be on any given date that they've been given, that they might be required to stay in the United States. So with asylum proceedings, there are multiple court dates. Uh, so the asylum seeker under this policy was being returned back and forth between the u s and Mexico several times. So it looks like the next time that people go to the u s they may have to stay there, but it's still unclear what's going to happen to them. And for now they are still, unless you're one of the 11 plaintiffs there, the majority of the asylum seekers are going to have to stay in Tijuana, which is currently seeing record homicides. And as we spoke about earlier, the migrants are among the most vulnerable population when it comes to criminal organizations. Speaker 1: 04:45 How's the Trump administration indicated whether or not it's going to appeal this ruling? No, there's been no official response. The agencies that I've contacted, homeland security, um, the White House have said that they can't comment on pending litigation. Um, so, so there's, there's not been any indication as to whether they'll appeal, although it seems very likely that they will appeal on. President Trump was tweeting about how unfair it is that the judge is essentially ruling in, in his words, ruling that Mexico is unsafe for migrants and the Trump administration has until Friday to appeal. Essentially, the judge has postponed the actual implementation of the injunction until Friday to give the Trump administration an opportunity to appeal. I've been speaking with KPBS border reporter, Gene Guerrero. Jean, thanks. Thank you. And you're listening to KPBS mid day edition.