A highly-contested immigration policy that was recently put in place can now be readily enforced by the Trump administration.
After bouncing around in the lower courts in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Supreme Court ruled late Wednesday night the new asylum policy could be widely enforced at the border while the case plays out in the lower courts.
The Asylum Policy
The new immigration policy is quickly becoming known as the “third country” legislation.
In an effort to reduce the flow of illegals at our border, the Trump administration has proposed a new policy that would require immigrants to file for asylum in the first country after leaving the country they are fleeing.
If they do not follow that process, they would automatically be declined and deported upon entering the United States.
The only other way an asylum application would be accepted if the United States was their “third country” would be if their initial application was denied.
If that happened, they would still be able to file once they entered the United States, even if it was illegally.
Bouncing Around in the Courts
When the case first landed on the docket, Judge Tigar, who is an Obama appointee, by the way, put a countrywide injunction on the legislation while the case was being argued.
The 9th Circuit, however, disagreed and said Tigar overstepped his bounds.
He could put the injunction in place, but only in his district, which would encompass Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.
Tigar immediately came back, stating that for the injunction to be effective, it would have to put in place nationwide, so once again the policy was put on hold.
The 9th Circuit responded by once again rolling back Tigar’s ruling, but then the Supreme Court stepped in to settle the dispute.
In a 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court decided the administration can enforce the policy while the American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit is taking place in the lower courts.
While it is not a permanent victory for Trump, it does allow the administration to put the policy and place and prove that it cannot slow the flow of illegals until a final ruling is made on the ACLU lawsuit.
Source: AP
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