A federal judge, appointed by President Trump, ruled this week to block the United States from ending the practice of asylum shopping by border crossers arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Kelly sided with the George Soros-funded American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), blocking the Trump administration from enforcing safe third country agreements with Central America over procedural technicalities.
Kelly said the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not adequately give enough time for public comments before implementing the asylum rule.
The rule was issued in July 2019 and sought to slow the flow of illegal immigration by ending U.S.-Mexico border crossers’ ability to asylum shop — that is, pick and choose where they would like to seek asylum rather than seeking asylum in the first safe country they travel to.
Mexico, DHS officials have noted, has a robust asylum process.
The rule was not unprecedented and, in fact, common. For example, the U.S. has the same agreement with Canada to ensure migrants do not pass through the country solely to seek asylum in America. Instead, those migrants must first seek asylum in Canada, which likewise has a robust asylum process.
Overturning of the rule, known as a “Third Safe Country Agreement,” will likely have little impact at the moment — primarily because a public health order is currently allowing Border Patrol to deport border crossers at a record pace — but it could eventually lead to record levels of illegal immigration.
The lawsuit was originally filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The case number is 19-2117.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.