Thread: Caravan asylum seekers can enter at ports of entry only, Trump

The Latest: Trump: Asylum seekers must go to ports of entry

by Associated Press
Thursday, November 1st 2018



President Donald Trump arrives at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018, from a campaign rally in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Latest on President Donald Trump's stance on immigration (all times local):

4:40 p.m.
President Donald Trump says asylum seekers must go to ports of entry in order to make a claim. He says he will issue an executive order next week on immigration.

In a lengthy speech Thursday, Trump said migrants are abusing the asylum system and making a "mockery" of immigration laws.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, migrants claiming asylum are allowed to do so at the border crossings, but also if they cross illegally.

Trump reiterated that he wanted to set up "tent cities" to hold people coming to the U.S., including those seeking asylum. But there currently is not enough detention space to hold families who are coming across the border. The military is working to create space, but nothing has been finalized. And laws prevent children from being detained beyond 20 days.
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4:10 p.m.
A U.S. official says the first 100 or so active-duty troops have arrived at the U.S.-Mexican border, to provide support for border patrol agents as a caravan of migrants slowly makes its way north.

The troops are doing initial assessments at the port of entry in McAllen, Texas. The official says there are about 2,600 U.S. troops now at staging bases, largely in Texas, with several thousand more expected to flow in through the weekend and move into California and Arizona.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details not yet released.

The Pentagon says more than 7,000 active-duty troops are being sent to the Southwest border, with more possible. President Donald Trump has said the number could reach 15,000.

The caravan of migrants is still hundreds of miles from the border.
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12:55 p.m.
President Donald Trump is expected to announce plans to deny asylum to migrants who try to enter the U.S. illegally between ports of entry as part of his latest election season response to two caravans of migrants heading toward the U.S.-Mexico border.
That's according to three people familiar with the plans who spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly.
The White House announced earlier that the president would be making "brief remarks on the illegal immigration crisis" before he departs for a campaign rally in Missouri.
It's unclear whether the restrictions would apply only to those traveling in the caravans or would extend beyond the caravans to all people trying to enter the country.
The announcement comes as the president has sought to focus attention on immigration while trying to drum up GOP enthusiasm heading into next Tuesday's midterm elections.
-- By Jill Colvin and Colleen Long.
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8:45 a.m.
Ahead of the midterm elections, President Donald Trump is tweeting a video alleging Democrats were responsible for allowing a convicted cop killer into the U.S. But he's providing no evidence supporting his claim.
The video is reminiscent of the infamous 1988 "Willie Horton" ad used against Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis and condemned as racist.
Trump highlighted the case of Luis Bracamontes, a twice-deported immigrant from Mexico sentenced to death in California for killing two police officers.
The spot includes expletives uttered by Bracamontes during his trial professing regret at not killing more officials.
The captioned reads: "Illegal immigrant, Luis Bracamontes, killed our people!" It adds: "Democrats let him into our country...Democrats let him stay."
The video includes scenes of a migrant "caravan," warning, "Who else would Democrats let in?" Trump provides no evidence linking Democrats to Bracamontes.
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12:50 a.m.
President Donald Trump says the number of military troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border could reach 15,000.
Trump said Wednesday "we'll go up to anywhere between 10 and 15,000 military personnel on top of Border Patrol, ICE and everybody else at the border."
Trump says the move would be aimed at preventing the entry of a caravan of migrants traveling from Central America. The caravan is moving on foot and is still nearly 1,000 miles from the border.
The troop numbers have changed at a dizzying pace, with Trump drawing a hard line on immigration in the lead-up to the midterm elections.
Last week officials indicated 800 to 1,000 troops might be sent. On Monday, they announced about 5,200 were being deployed. The next day an Air Force general rejected a news report it could reach 14,000.

https://valleycentral.com/news/local/the-latest-trump-asylum-seekers-must-go-to-ports-of-entry

Trump announces plan to deny asylum-seekers who don't show up at ports of entry, in latest major immigration policy shift


October 31, 2018

Greg Re


Video



President Trump announced in a lengthy speech at the White House on Thursday afternoon that, in response to what he called the "crisis at our southern border" and a surge of fraudulent asylum claims, his administration will require asylum-seekers to "lawfully present themselves" at a port of entry.
The move appeared designed to prevent many members of the leading Central American migrant caravan -- which now numbers approximately 4,000, down from a high of 7,200 -- to make asylum claims if and when they reach the U.S. border. Asylum claims made by migrants caught crossing the border illegally would seemingly be summarily denied under Trump's proposal.


The asylum clause of the Immigration and Nationality Act says that anyone who arrives to the U.S. may apply for asylum based on a well-founded fear of persecution, and Trump's decision was likely to prompt immediate federal court challenges.


In his remarks, Trump called the thousands of migrants in the approaching caravans from Central America "not legitimate asylum-seekers" because most of them have not decided to remain in Mexico and pursue asylum there. "Asylum is not a program for people living in poverty," he said.


The president also issued something of a warning to members of the caravan, including those who reportedly threw rocks at members of the Mexican police this week.

"We will consider that a firearm," Trump said. "We will consider that the maximum we can consider that, because they're throwing rocks viciously and violently. .... We're not going to put up with that. They want to throw rocks at our military, our military fights back. I told them to consider it a rifle. When they throw rocks, like they did at the Mexico military and police, I said, consider it a rifle."


Asked by a reporter to clarify if U.S. troops might fire on the caravan, Trump responded, "I hope not, I hope not -- but it's the military."

"They want to throw rocks at our military, our military fights back."
— President Trump

The president's statement marked his latest major policy pronouncement on illegal immigration with just days to go before the Nov. 6 midterm elections, following his decision to send thousands of troops to the U.S. border and his push to end birthright citizenship, which he said could be accomplished by executive order.

Trump said Thursday he would issue a "comprehensive" executive order next week on immigration matters, including his asylum plan.

"If these caravans are allowed into our country, only bigger and more emboldened caravans will follow -- and you see that's what's happening now," Trump said.


SESSIONS SAYS 'VAST MAJORITY' OF ASYLUM CLAIMS ARE INVALID, ANNOUNCES NEW RULES TO CUT DOWN ON ASYLUM CLAIMS

In a statement, Omar Jadwat, the director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, condemned the president's announcement.

"If he plans at some point to prohibit people from applying for asylum between the ports of entry, that plan is illegal," Jadwat said. "What is clear from the timing and vague nature of today’s remarks is that he is simply trying to inflame his base in the final run-up to the midterms.”

Trump and other administration officials have long encouraged those seeking asylum to come through legal ports of entry. However, many migrants may be unaware of that guidance, and official border crossings have grown increasingly clogged.



Immigration officials have turned away asylum-seekers at ports of entry citing overcrowding, telling them to return at a later date.

Backlogs have grown especially bad in recent months at crossings in California, Arizona and Texas, with people generally waiting five weeks to claim asylum at San Diego's main crossing and sleeping out in the open for days at a time.







A woman holding her baby hitches a ride on the fender of a tanker in Niltepec, Mexico, on Tuesday. (AP)


Migrants who cross illegally are generally arrested and often seek asylum or some other form of protection. Claims have spiked since 2010, and there is currently a backlog of more than 800,000 cases pending in immigration court.


Detention facilities are also nearly at their maximum capacity; Trump on Thursday said more are being constructed, and that illegal immigrants will be held in "massive cities of tents."


Administration officials have railed against what they say are loopholes designed to encourage people, especially from Central America, to come to the U.S. and claim asylum. On Thursday, Trump said human trafficking -- in which "the lowest scum on Earth ... steal children" -- has hit unprecedented levels, in part because of lax asylum policies.

"We will not allow our generosity to be abused by those who would break our laws, defy our rules, violate our borders, break into our country illegally -- we won't allow it," Trump said. "Mass uncontrolled immigration is especially unfair to the many wonderful law-abiding immigrants already living here, who followed the rules and waited their turn."

Once illegal immigrants apply for asylum, even if their claims are fraudulent, they previously have been allowed into the U.S. pending the adjudication of their asylum claims -- which require a credible fear of imminent persecution based on a limited number of factors, such as political or religious belief, in order to be upheld.


"They never show up at the trials," Trump said, referring to people who claim asylum and then are released into the country. "They never come back, they're never seen again."



Video



Generally, most asylum claims often fail to meet this high legal standard after they are reviewed by aslyum judges, and only about 20 percent of applicants are approved.


ASYLUM CLAIMS OVERWHELM U.S. SYSTEM -- A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS

Trump's comments came hours after the leading caravan trying to make its way to the U.S. border failed in its efforts to convince the Mexican government to offer dozens of buses to speed up their journey northward.


On Thursday, Trump again characterized the caravan as an "invasion" that has "overrun the Mexican police -- and hurt, badly, Mexican soldiers. ... They're wasting their time. They should turn back now."


The caravan initially totaled more than 7,000 people, but its numbers have dwindled as thousands have either applied for asylum in Mexico or returned to Honduras.


A second, smaller group of 1,000 or so migrants is more than 200 miles back. A third band of about 500 from El Salvador has made it to Guatemala, and a fourth group of about 700 set out from the Salvadoran capital Wednesday.

At a rally Wednesday in Fort Myers, Fla., Trump charged that the leading incoming caravan represents a security threat. "They got a lot of rough people in those caravans -- they are not angels. They are not," he said.


Video



Trump has said that up to 15,000 U.S. troops could be deployed to the border if the caravan continues its approach. The Pentagon noted Wednesday afternoon that its initial estimate was for 7,000 troops at the border.


The president also has sparred with some in his own party, including outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., over Trump's proposal to end birthright citizenship, which allows children of illegal immigrants to automatically become U.S. citizens if born within the country's borders.


"Illegal aliens are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States," Trump said to applause at Wednesday's rally, to chants of "U-S-A!"


That comment was significant because the 14th Amendment reads: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside."


TED CRUZ: BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP 'INCENTIVIZES' ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, NEEDS TO GO

Some Republicans are advancing the theory that illegal immigrants are not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the U.S. within the meaning of that provision, which would give Congress the legal daylight to pass a law codifying Trump's view, modifying the current Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) of 1952 and ending birthright citizenship.

While an 1898 Supreme Court case appears contrary to that view, the issue has not been tested in the courts in modern times, and Republicans are newly emboldened by the 5-4 conservative majority on the Supreme Court.


Still, Trump's suggestion that he could legally bypass Congress and simply issue a unilateral executive order to enact his proposed change was "obviously" incorrect, Ryan said this week.


That prompted Trump to fire back on Twitter and charge that Ryan "knows nothing about the issue." The president also said Ryan should "focus on holding the Majority" -- a nod to polls showing that Republicans face tough odds to retain control of the House after the Nov. 6 midterm elections.


Trump also followed up with a clip of a 1993 speech from former Nevada Democratic Sen. Harry Reid, in which he claimed that "no sane country" would have birthright citizenship. Reid reversed his position in 1999, under pressure from union groups.


Fox News' Greg Norman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.



https://www.foxnews.com/politics/tru...he-white-house

I have a BIGLY problem with that President Trump!

I do not want 1 billion people showing up on OUR doorstep!

And Mexico and Canada will have 500,000 people within their borders and let the floodgates loose!

They do NOT want them either and will let them overrun us!

STOP STAYING THAT...NO ASYLUM AT PORTS OF ENTRY

GET IN LINE LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE ON THE PLANET!

They cannot be investigated, vetted or given thorough medical exams BEFORE they are APPROVED for asylum!

NO, NO, NO AND NO!!!

THEY APPLY IN THEIR COUNTRY WHERE WE CAN INVESTIGATE THEIR BOGUS CLAIMS!

Once again Trump is going to let the caravans enter through a point of entry just like the last caravan that got in earlier this year.

What will Trump's song and dance look like after the election?

Slow Lines Await Migrant Caravan At US Border

ICE speeds up the release in 'catch and release' of families

JUST IN: President Trump Moves to Restrict Asylum Access at Southern Border

NO ASYLUM AT PORTS OF ENTRY!

We cannot have MILLIONS of people backed up on our border.

Mexico does not want them...they do not have the funds to house and feed them. We do NOT want to provide Mexico the funds to house and feed them.

MILLIONS will come and live in these tent cities...HELL NO!

They need to be sent home and apply there! They need to be investigated, vetted and given medical exams with no diseases!

They do not qualify. Why should we pay BILLIONS to house and feed them AND pay to send them back.

This money comes out of OUR paychecks. We want it stopped!

Send all UAC's back within 24 hours. They are not our citizens to keep or release on our soil.

STAY HOME AND APPLY...NO PAPERS, NO ENTRY, NO RIGHTS!

STOP WASTING OUR MONEY ON THIS!

YOU HAVE JUST OPENED THE FLOODGATES TO PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD TO GO TO MEXICO AND GET FREE ROOM & BOARD!

DON'T LET THEM IN! DON'T LET THEM IN! DON'T LET THEM IN!