The rule is the latest — and one of the most aggressive — attempts by the administration to curb asylum protections.
President Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House on July 15, 2019, defending his policies on immigration and other issues.
The law currently provides a major exception in cases in which the U.S. has negotiated a “safe third country” agreement with another government. Under those agreements, such as the one the U.S. has with Canada, migrants must apply in the first safe country they reach. The rule would most directly affect Central American families and unaccompanied minors, who account for most of a recent surge in migrants arriving at the border.
“After the Guatemala piece fell through over the weekend, this appears to have been their backup plan," Olson said."But there are still a lot of questions about the legality of it ... and the practicality of it. I don't think anyone in Central America is prepared to go along.” Late Monday, personnel at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ asylum branch received last-minute guidance on how to implement the new rule, which was due to take effect a few hours later.
At a news conference, Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said Mexico disagrees with the new rule. In a statement, the foreign secretariat said the asylum changes were made “unilaterally, within the scope of the jurisdiction of the United States.” Many of the administration’s efforts to scale back or dismantle the U.S. asylum system, such as denying protections to those who cross the border between official ports of entry, have been rejected by the courts.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein said asylum seekers were “fleeing some of the most violent, dangerous countries in the world such as El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.”
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