Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court for Power to Enforce Asylum Rule

By Jess Bravin

WASHINGTON—The Trump administration on Monday asked the Supreme Court for authority to immediately begin denying asylum to Central Americans who show up at the U.S. border without first seeking refugee status in Mexico or other countries they traveled through.

Federal courts in California had blocked implementation of the administration’s interim rule, finding that the Justice and Homeland Security departments skirted federal Administrative Procedure Act requirements that proposed rules be published for public notice and comment before taking effect.

Four immigrant-rights groups had sued to stop the rule; Monday’s application, filed by Solicitor General Noel Francisco, argued that the groups lack legal standing to bring the lawsuit. Additionally, the administration contended that the rule was necessary to lessen the “crushing burden” a surge of such asylum seekers has imposed on the U.S. immigration system.

The rule “screens out asylum seekers who declined to request protection at the first opportunity,” and thus “deters aliens without a genuine need for asylum from making the arduous and potentially dangerous journey from Central America to the United States,” the administration said Monday.

Blocking the rule impairs border security and impedes diplomatic negotiations with foreign countries such as Mexico, the administration argued.

In July, a federal district court in San Francisco issued a nationwide injunction blocking implementation of the rule.

Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, also in San Francisco, narrowed the injunction to its own circuit, which includes the southern border states of Arizona and California.

The Ninth Circuit injunction temporarily blocks implementation of the rule in those states while the courts weigh its ultimate validity; in Monday’s application, the Justice Department asks the high court for authority to carry out the policy as that litigation proceeds.

The “ban upends four decades of unbroken practice and would cause untold harm to families and children if allowed to take effect,” said Lee Gelernt, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who represents groups challenging the rule.

Other challenges to the policy are pending in different courts.

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com