Trump's efforts to expel asylum seekers at the border blocked by judge
by Adam Schrader · UPIJuly 2 (UPI) -- A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the administration of President Donald Trump to stop implementing a proclamation to expel asylum seekers at the border that he had signed shortly after beginning his second term.
Trump had signed the proclamation, titled "Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion," on January 20, his first day in office. It invoked emergency presidential powers to expel migrants before allowing them to apply for asylum. A coalition of immigrants and immigrant rights groups then sued the administration in February.
U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss has now granted the plaintiffs a partial summary judgment, finding that Trump's proclamation and implementation guidance from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem violated the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.
In his proclamation, Trump had said that the screenings of asylum seekers under the INA -- enacted by Congress -- can be "wholly ineffective" but that the law grants the president "certain emergency tools" if he were to find that the entry of any class of immigrants would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.
"The court recognizes that the Executive Branch faces enormous challenges in preventing and deterring unlawful entry into the United States and in adjudicating the overwhelming backlog of asylum claims of those who have entered the country," Moss wrote.
But he added that the Immigration and Nationality Act "provides the sole and exclusive means for removing people already present in the country."
But Moss found that the INA "provides the sole and exclusive means for removing people already present in the country" and that the government lacked the statutory or constitutional authority to adopt an "alternative immigration system" to the one outlined by Congress.
He stayed his ruling for 14 days in anticipation of a likely appeal from the Trump administration, and deferred judgment on whether the government should grant relief to plaintiffs who are no longer in the United States and other aspects of the lawsuit.The judge's ruling also did not include an injunction at this stage and ordered the parties to submit a joint status report proposing a briefing schedule on unresolved issues.
It comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week in the case of Trump v. CASA Inc., a landmark ruling that determined that lower courts generally lack authority to issue "nationwide" or "universal" injunctions unless they are essential to fully remedy the specific plaintiffs' harms.
While an injunction has not yet been granted in this case, officials in the Trump administration have criticized Moss as a "rogue" judge seeking to "circumvent" the Supreme Court.
"To try to circumvent the Supreme Court ruling on nationwide injunctions a Marxist judge has declared that all potential future illegal aliens on foreign soil (e.g. a large portion of planet Earth) are part of a protected global 'class' entitled to admission into the United States," Stephen Miller posted on social media.
Gene Hamilton, the former deputy White House counsel, called the judge's decision "judicial insurrection," while Attorney General Pamela Bondi said that the Justice Department would fight the "unconstitutional power grab.