One of U.S. President Donald Trump’s main policy points hinges around border protection, whether it be in form of promising a secure wall across the U.S.-Mexico border or whether it’s reducing illegal immigration or tourism from nations which the current administration considers to be dangerous.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration spoke up again on the issue, proclaiming that the decision made by federal District Judge Jon Tigar to extend a ban on the proposed asylum restrictions would be contested, according to CNN . The court filing states that the administration told the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that it will be appealing the December 19 decision by Tigar to extend the original ban on new rules that President Trump wants to implement on the southern border.
In November, Trump signed a proclamation that would bar migrants who illegally cross into the United States over the southern border from seeking asylum outside of official ports of entry. Tigar responded by issuing a temporary restraining order on the proclamation, arguing that it “irreconcilably conflicts” with immigration law. He also felt that immigrants would face “increased risk of violence and other harms at the border” if Trump’s ban were to be allowed to come into effect.
The Trump administration said it is appealing a US federal judge’s order that blocks the administration from implementing asylum restrictions on the country’s southern border https://t.co/by28elgJoC pic.twitter.com/GxlBAihbVA
— CNN International (@cnni) December 26, 2018
Following Tigar’s initial ruling, a panel of judges on the 9th Circuit agreed with him, and made the decision that the ruling should be upheld. The decision was penned by federal Circuit Judge Jay Bybee, a George W. Bush nominee. Their reasoning was that the presidential proclamation is “likely inconsistent with existing United States law.”
“We are acutely aware of the crisis in the enforcement of our immigration laws,” the panel said. “The burden of dealing with these issues has fallen disproportionately on the courts of our circuit. And as much as we might be tempted to revise the law as we think wise, revision of the laws is left with the branch that enacted the laws in the first place—Congress.”
On Friday, the Supreme Court let stand Judge Tigar’s original order to continue temporarily blocking the Trump administration’s asylum restrictions. The verdict came down to a 5-4 ruling, with Chief Justice John Roberts siding with the four liberal justices on the matter.
The president has repeatedly criticized the 9th Circuit, calling them “very unfair.” When the ban was first blocked in November, Trump heaped criticism on the San Francisco-based appeals court, which actually led Roberts to issue a statement about the importance of the independence of the judiciary.
The ban continues to be a setback for a president who has sought to close the borders to undocumented immigrants.
