On Monday, Judge Richard Seeborg of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled against President Donald Trump’s “wait-in-Mexico” policy for prospective asylum-seekers arriving at our beleaguered southern border. The Washington Times reports:
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to stop its new policy of sending asylum-seekers who jumped the border back to Mexico to wait while their cases proceed, ruling Monday that the plan was likely illegal.
Known informally as the “wait-in-Mexico policy,” and officially as the Migrant Protection Protocols, the plan was a major part of the administration’s moves to try to stem the flow of immigrants crossing into the U.S. illegally.
Judge Richard Seeborg, an Obama appointee to the bench, said not only does the policy violate immigration law, but Mexico is so dangerous that making asylum-seekers wait there — even if they’re not from Mexico — is untenable.
Judge Seeborg said it may be possible to come up with a policy that would be legal, with sufficient safeguards, but the Trump administration’s version doesn’t cut it.
The Trump Administration will presumably — though not definitely — appeal, although that appeal would be to the left-leaning U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. – READ MORE