Seeking asylum in the US, or any other country for that matter is a person/persons last option. The term ‘asylum’ refers to a protection granted to foreign nationals, already residing in or at the border of the country different than where they were born, who “meet the international law definition of a ‘refugee’.” A ‘refugee’ is a person who is unable or unwilling to return to their home country, and fears their life in their home country is unsafe due to persecution “on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”
Give Me Statistics
Once an individual is granted asylum, they are protected from being extradited to their country of origin, authorized to find willful employment, and can petition to bring family members to their new home. According to the most recent annual report released by the US Department of Homeland Security, a “total of 84,989 persons were admitted to the United States as refugees during 2016. The leading countries of nationality for refugees admitted during this time period were the Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, and Burma.”
Of those 84,989 refugees, 20,455 people applied for and were granted some form of asylum. The US, at least in the last thirty to forty years, have accepted refugees fleeing from violence, poverty, and famine without so much as passing an executive order. When President Trump was elected to office, almost immediately he made it known to his administration and the rest of the country how unwavering he was with tightening up immigration.
The Trump administration made it clear that our country’s asylum policy, rather than a form of protection for foreign nationals, is actually a “loophole” that makes us vulnerable to foreign threats to national security. In early November, Trump signed a presidential order that restricted people crossing the US/Mexico border, without paperwork, from being granted asylum. Anyone trying to enter through a port of entry (POE) to the United States, without proper documentation, is subject to immediate deportation unless they can convince an asylum officer to humor their eligibility as an asylee.
To put it simply, the Trump administration, throughout its two-year dynasty, has searched in every nook and cranny to find ways for the President to augment US immigration policy without the need for a drop of congressional approval. The preferred weapon of choice, the executive order, has been used to enact travel bans on Muslims, separate children from their families, and try to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Separation (Tower) of Powers
No matter how powerful the administration may feel after a good ol’ fashioned executive order, no branch of government can withstand the Almighty force that is the separation of powers. Throwing it back to the days of school house rock, the country’s three branches of government. Legislative, Judicial, and Executive, work together, with the help of Mr. checks & balances, to assure that no one branch does something that fails to align with the totality of the government.
A federal judge, by the name of Judge Jon S. Tigar, from the Northern District of California, ruled the Trump administration must allow people who cross into the US without proper paperwork between official POE to seek asylum.
“…The President has issued a proclamation that allows asylum to be granted only to those who cross at a designated port of entry and deny asylum to those who enter at any other location…The rule barring asylum for immigrants…irreconcilably conflicts with the Immigration and Naturalization act and the expressed intent of Congress.”
-Judge Jon S. Tigar, Northern District of California
In other words, Judge Tigar, which may be one of the greatest names in the history of judgeships, ruled that President Trump cannot enact legislation to ban the right of asylum without congressional approval. In his comments, Judge Tigar wrote that while the Trump administration may have opinions on illegal immigration, the president “may not rewrite the asylum laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressly forbidden.”
Judge Tigar’s ruling brings balance to the force and restricts the administration from acting of their own accord, but some experts believe that the ruling could backfire, and “encourage more people to come to the US and not wait at ports of entry.” It will likely muddy the waters surrounding immigration policy under the Trump administration and may force the President to look into measures to achieve his goals, while still adhering to hearts and minds of the other two branches of government.
