Visa Lawyer Blog
Several weeks ago, the President signed an executive order preventing undocumented immigrants from applying for asylum.
On Monday, a federal judge from San Francisco issued a nationwide injunction, forcing the government to continue to accept asylum claims by undocumented immigrants, regardless of where or how they entered the United States. As a result, the President’s executive order will be suspended until a decision is reached by the court in the lawsuit East Bay Sanctuary Covenant et al., v. Donald J. Trump, et al.,
The President hoped that his executive order would curb illegal immigration at the Southern border, ahead of the arrival of a large immigrant caravan from Central America.
In its lawsuit, the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant along with other pro-immigrant organizations, asked the Court to stop the government from enforcing the executive order.
Judge Tigar granted the Plaintiff’s motion for temporary relief stating that, “the rule barring asylum for immigrants who enter the country outside a port of entry irreconcilably conflicts with the INA and the expressed intent of Congress. Whatever the scope of the President’s authority, he may not rewrite the immigration laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressly forbidden.”
According to the order granting the preliminary injunction, the Judge found that the Plaintiff organizations and the individuals they represent, will suffer irreparable harm if the executive order goes into effect, pending the resolution of the lawsuit before the Court.
The Court notably found that if the executive order were to go into effect, asylum seekers would risk being exposed to violence and other harms at the border. The government did not meet its burden of providing that a compelling need to outweigh these ha
The injunction applies immediately and will be enforced nationwide.