Author: Stephen Johnson / Source: Big Think
- The proclamation will bar migrants who cross the border illegally from making asylum claims.
- In the past, anyone who crossed the border—legally or illegally—was able to apply for asylum in the U.S.
- The new measures will almost surely be challenged in court.
President Donald Trump signed a presidential proclamation Friday that will deny asylum to migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, a move intended to funnel incoming migrants to legal ports of entry.
“I just signed the proclamation on asylum—very important,” Trump told reporters on Friday before leaving for Paris. “People can come in but they have to come in through the points of entry.”
The proclamation, along with regulations adopted Thursday, oversteps current federal laws that allow all migrants who cross the border—legally or illegally—to seek asylum in the U.S.
“We need people in our country but they have to come in legally and they have to have merit,” Trump said.
Migrants who are denied asylum may still be eligible for other forms of protection, including “withholding of removal,” in which migrants aren’t deported to their home countries but have no pathway to obtaining a green card or citizenship.
In 2017, the U.S. received more than 300,000 asylum claims. Generally, 20% of claims are approved,…
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