Judge Helps Asylum Seekers Through Injunction

A federal judge in Northern California, Richard Seeborg, has issued an injunction barring the Trump administration from forcing asylum seekers to stay in Mexico as they await hearings. The injunction goes into effect Friday, April 12th.

The Trump administration’s policy, dubbed the Migrant Protection Protocol, went into effect in January under the direction of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. However, Nielsen was forced to resign on April 7, just one day before Judge Seeborg overturned the “Wait in Mexico” policy.

Seeborg’s ruling was issued after a coalition of immigrants’ rights groups filed for a restraining order against the “Wait in Mexico” policy in February. Eleven migrants from Mexico were named as plaintiffs in the case. When Seeborg’s injunction goes into effect, the U.S. government will have 48 hours to admit those plaintiffs and other asylum seekers into the U.S. to await their hearings.

Until the Trump administration created the “Wait in Mexico” policy, immigrants seeking asylum were permitted to wait inside the United States until a judge could hear their case, although many were required to wear electronic tracking devices.

In his ruling, Judge Seeborg said the Trump administration’s policy “lacks sufficient protections against aliens being returned to places where they face undue risk to their lives or freedom.”