Federal Judge Who Blocked Trump's Asylum Ban Was Appointed By Obama
U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar declared a temporary restraining order on Monday
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Former President Barack Obama appointed the federal judge who temporarily blocked the President Donald Trump's ban on asylum for illegal immigrants.
U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar declared a temporary restraining order on Monday which prevented the Trump administration from implementing its efforts to crack down on immigration at the southern border.
Just days after the midterm elections, Trump announced the rule that anyone caught illegally crossing the border into the U.S. would be rendered ineligible for asylum.
The President said that the new measures were required to prepare for the arrival thousands of Central American migrants moving toward the U.S. in the caravan groups.
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Trump then asserted that asylum seekers had "no lawful basis for admission into our country."
Tigar, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2012, said that his ruling has mandated that all immigrants should be qualified to apply for asylum, regardless of the method of their arrival into the US.
"Congress has commanded that immigrants be eligible for asylum regardless of where they enter," the judge said.
"Whatever the scope of the president's authority may be, he may not rewrite the immigration laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressly forbidden," Tigar said.
The judge stated that Trump's ban went against "basic separation of powers principles" in the US, which "dictate that an agency may not promulgate a rule or regulation that renders Congress's words a nullity."
Scott Stewart, the lawyer representing the Justice Department who claimed of a "crushing strain" of migrant attempting to enter the US, was immediately disregarded by Tigar who claimed the border apprehensions have been at historic lows
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Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, launched a legal battle to prevent the asylum ban together with several other rights groups, said that Trump's ban should highlight "President Trump's disregard for separation of powers."
“This ban is illegal, will put people’s lives in danger, and raises the alarm about President Trump’s disregard for separation of powers," Gelernt said in a statement.
"There is no justifiable reason to flatly deny people the right to apply for asylum, and we cannot send them back to danger based on the manner of their entry," he said. "Congress has been clear on this point for decades.”
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According to Newsweek: The ruling came at a critical time, as thousands of the Central American migrants moving in caravans toward the U.S. border have started to arrive in Mexican border town of Tijuana, which sits across the border from San Diego.
Many plans to make their asylum claims at the San Ysidro port of entry, though it could take weeks, if not months, for all of their claims to be processed.
That means many will likely be stranded in Tijuana until they can pass through the port of entry.
However, tensions have already started to flare in the border town, with some residents protesting in the streets and demanding that the migrants, who some have called "invaders" leave.
On Friday, Tijuana's mayor, Manuel Gastelum, warned that the town was not ready to handle the influx of migrants, which he said could grow to include as many as 10,000 arrivals over the coming weeks.
Trump seized on the mayor's advice, tweeting on Sunday: "The Mayor of Tijuana, Mexico, just stated that 'the City is ill-prepared to handle this many migrant, the backlog could last 6 months.
"Likewise, the U.S. is ill-prepared for this invasion, and will not stand for it. They are causing crime and big problems in Mexico. Go home!" Trump said.
