Federal judge invalidates Biden administration restrictions on migrant asylum seekers

A federal judge issued a ruling on Tuesday that invalidated the asylum policy imposed by President Joe Biden's administration over two months ago, rejecting the principle adopted by this administration to halt the flow of migrants across the southern border.

Judge John Tigar of the federal court in San Francisco deemed the policy that forces migrants to apply for asylum from their own countries or transit countries in order to be accepted in the United States as "illegal."

Biden's administration implemented a policy over two months ago that penalizes migrants who cross the border illegally by rejecting their asylum requests, while considering applications from those who obtain appointments to seek asylum before entering U.S. territory.

This judicial decision may compel the U.S. government to accept asylum requests from migrants who have entered U.S. territory, potentially leading to a new wave of immigration from Mexico after a decline in the past two months.

However, Judge Tigar suspended his ruling for 14 days to give the Biden administration time to appeal.

The Department of Justice announced that it will appeal the ruling, which it sees as contrary to its beliefs, and indicated that it will seek to postpone the implementation of Tigar's decision for as long as possible.

In a statement, the department said that the rules put in place by the Biden administration in May are a "legal exercise of the broad authority granted to it by immigration law."

The ruling came in a case brought forth by migrant advocacy organizations immediately after the Biden administration announced on May 16th the new measures aimed at halting the flow of around 200,000 migrants across the southern border each month.

The organizations argued that Biden's policy assumes migrants are ineligible to seek asylum directly at the border.



AFP