- Oct 17, 2011
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The Trump administration has mounted a nationwide campaign to void the asylum claims of thousands of immigrants with active cases in immigration court by arguing that they can be deported to countries that are not their own, according to internal government data obtained by CBS News.
The effort appears to have intensified in recent weeks, targeting asylum-seekers with pending cases in immigration courts in Atlanta, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Texas and elsewhere across the U.S., multiple immigration lawyers and certified legal representatives told CBS News.
As part of the effort, ICE attorneys have asked immigration judges to order asylum-seekers deported to third countries like Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador and Uganda, according to court documents reviewed by CBS News and interviews with immigration lawyers.
Previously undisclosed internal government data obtained by CBS News indicates that, as of early December, ICE attorneys had filed more than 8,000 motions in immigration court to toss out asylum claims by citing deportation agreements with third countries.
In late October, the Board of Immigration Appeals, which reviews decisions by immigration courts, issued a ruling that lawyers believe will turbocharge efforts by the government to use "safe third country" agreements to cancel asylum cases. That order directed immigration judges to decide the motions by ICE to send immigrants to third-party countries before reviewing their asylum applications.
"I think that this is in line with this administration's attempt to completely eviscerate the availability of asylum and other forms of protection in this country," said Blaine Bookey, legal director for San Francisco's Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, one of the groups litigating the case. "This is, in their view, an easy way to cut off a case at the knees."
It just doesn't matter if your case is valid or not. Go be a refugee somewhere else.
www.cbsnews.com
The effort appears to have intensified in recent weeks, targeting asylum-seekers with pending cases in immigration courts in Atlanta, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Texas and elsewhere across the U.S., multiple immigration lawyers and certified legal representatives told CBS News.
As part of the effort, ICE attorneys have asked immigration judges to order asylum-seekers deported to third countries like Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador and Uganda, according to court documents reviewed by CBS News and interviews with immigration lawyers.
Previously undisclosed internal government data obtained by CBS News indicates that, as of early December, ICE attorneys had filed more than 8,000 motions in immigration court to toss out asylum claims by citing deportation agreements with third countries.
In late October, the Board of Immigration Appeals, which reviews decisions by immigration courts, issued a ruling that lawyers believe will turbocharge efforts by the government to use "safe third country" agreements to cancel asylum cases. That order directed immigration judges to decide the motions by ICE to send immigrants to third-party countries before reviewing their asylum applications.
"I think that this is in line with this administration's attempt to completely eviscerate the availability of asylum and other forms of protection in this country," said Blaine Bookey, legal director for San Francisco's Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, one of the groups litigating the case. "This is, in their view, an easy way to cut off a case at the knees."
It just doesn't matter if your case is valid or not. Go be a refugee somewhere else.
Trump administration seeks to cancel thousands of asylum cases, saying applicants can be deported to third countries
ICE has filed more than 8,000 requests to toss out asylum claims in immigration court, asking judges to send immigrants to third-party countries.
www.cbsnews.com
