Trump Must Reverse Obama Appointee's Decision On Asylum Seekers.

by
Julio Gonzalez, M.D., J.D.
 
An Obama appointed federal judge ordered the Trump administration to resume accepting asylum claims from migrants regardless of the point of entry and how the entry occurred.  In dismissing the administration's new policy requiring that only asylum applicants who entered the country through designated points of entry be processed, Judge Jon S. Tigar of the United States District Court in San Francisco held that the Trump Administration was essentially rewriting immigration law. 
 
Advocates against President Trump successfully argued before the judge that immigration law required people fleeing persecution be allowed to seek safety in the United States regardless of how they arrived in the country.  
 
There's only one problem with the advocacy groups' arguments and with the judges ruling; the language within the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) itself.  The fact is that Congress foresaw the possibility of explosive situations like the one in Central America.  For that reason, 8 U.S.C. §1182(f) of the INA reads, in part, "Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate," which is exactly what the President did. 
 
What Judge Tygar purposely ignores is that Section 1182(f) of the INA actually gives the President the authority to respond to issues such as the one developing in Central America in whatever manner he feels appropriate.  Consequently, the President's proclamation is completely consistent with the powers afforded to him by Congress.  To make matters even dicier for Judge Tigar, the Supreme Court has already weighed in on the issue.  In Trump v. Hawaii, the Supreme Court decided on June 26, 2018, that the President was granted "broad discretion" in dealing with aliens attempting to enter the country,  
 
So, where are we in this situation?  
 
Unfortunately for our nation's security, the court's ruling essentially amounts to an invitation to all foreign nationals attempting to gain illegal entry into the United States to pursue their entry at all possible costs.  The urgency of the matter, particularly in light of the growing wave of migrants accumulating south of the board, makes affirmative action by the White House a must. 
 
First, it is imperative that the President undertake the appellate process with all possible haste.  The President must seek emergency judicial review to the Ninth Circuit. Of course, the Ninth Circuit with its consistent liberal agenda will uphold the lower court's ruling.  The President must then rapidly proceed to the Supreme Court where this case will undoubtedly be overruled.
 
 
Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida. He is the author of The Federalist Pages and serves in the Florida House of Representatives. He can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.com to arrange a lecture or book signing.
 
 
 
 
 

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