The ACLU has persuaded three judges in the far-left Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to block the hugely successful ‘Migrant Protection Protocols’ border policy, even though the policy has played a critical role in reducing the inflow of migrants.
The same panel also declared that border agents must process claims for asylum made by migrants who are caught trying to sneak over the border fence far from the formal Ports of Entry.
John Sandweg told Axios.com:
The timing couldn’t be much worse for the Administration,” according to President Barack Obama’s ICE director. “If this decision is going to trigger increased flows at the border, the coming months are the time of year when you would expect to see a spike in the numbers.”
The two decisions — if accepted by a large panel of judges and by the Supreme Court — punch a nationwide hole through the border rules. The decisions will help the cartels, coyotes, and worldwide migrants to again cooperatively overwhelm U.S. border defenses and courtroom process and rush millions of migrants into U.S. job markets, housing markets, and K-12 schools.
This is not the first time judges have opened loopholes in the border. In 2015, a California judge directed officials to release migrants from detention within 20 days if they bring children. This “Flores” catch and release rule prompted a huge wave of migrants to bring children over the border in 2018 and 2019, so allowing them to be released after 20 days into the U.S. job market.
A statement from the Department of Justice said:
Today’s decision out of the Ninth Circuit once again highlights the consequences and impropriety of nationwide injunctions. The Trump Administration has acted faithfully to implement a statutory authority provided by Congress over two decades ago and signed into law by President Clinton. The Ninth Circuit’s decision not only ignores the Constitutional authority of Congress and the Administration for a policy in effect for over a year, but also extends relief beyond the parties before the Court.
Administration officials will likely ask for a rehearing by a large panel of Ninth Circuit judges.
The MPP program is keeping roughly 65,000 migrants in Mexico prior to their long-delayed asylum pleas in court.
The policy minimizes the catch and release of migrants into the United States, where migrants can hide from enforcement agencies, earn money to pay off their cartel-affiliated coyotes, and then hire coyotes to transport their families into the United States. The MPP program has been so effective that it has helped to slash cross-border migration from 170,000 in May down to about 30,000 in January.
The judges also invalidated the administration’s policy of preventing asylum claims by migrants who are caught trying to sneak over the border. In effect, judges would allow migrants to apply for asylum once they are caught, on camera, in the act of illegal migration. This asylum decision also would prevent border officials from regulating the daily number of asylum requests at the ports to match the number of cases that can be managed by asylum officials.
Congress has refused to legislate fixes for either problem. GOP legislators are reluctant to slow the migration of workers, renters, and consumers to business groups, while Democrats welcome the inflow of people who will likely vote Democratic once they are amnestied.
Pro-migration groups cheered the border-opening decisions.
A statement from FWD.us, an advocacy group for West Coast investors said:
Today’s decision from the Ninth Circuit is a rebuke of the Trump Administration’s hardline immigration policy. The United States has been made stronger, more prosperous, and more vibrant because of the contributions of people seeking refuge and asylum who have fled their homes in search of safety and freedom.
“Rather than turning away people fleeing harm, we should ensure that the United States lives up to its reputation as a haven for those who are seeking protection by providing people with a fair day in court,” said Beth Werlin, executive director of the American Immigration Council, an advocacy group for immigration lawyers.
A statement from Erika Andiola, chief advocacy officer at RAICES Texas, a progressive, pro-migration group, read:
The decision by the Court to uphold an injunction on the “Remain in Mexico” policy should be a cause for celebration but we’re not holding our breath. We know their playbook, and we won’t be waiting to see if the U.S. government will appeal their decision. Since day one they’ve implemented a deeply racist and xenophobic anti-immigrant agenda. Congress must take action now and defund this inhumane program.