Border Patrol says it detained 50,000 in October
The Latest: Border Patrol says it detained 50,000 in October
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and immigration (all times local):
5:30 p.m.
The U.S. Border Patrol says it detained more than 50,000 people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border between ports of entry in October, setting a new high this year.
The agency released new figures Friday, the same day President Donald Trump issued an executive order declaring that anyone entering the U.S. illegally from Mexico outside of established ports would be ineligible for asylum. Legal groups sued Friday to challenge Trump’s order.
The Border Patrol says 50,975 people were apprehended on the southwest border in October. That’s double the number from October 2017 and the highest monthly figure since 2014.
The figure includes 4,991 unaccompanied minors. Another 23,121 people were considered “family units,” parents and children traveling together.
Border Patrol officials say there’s a crisis on the southern border, particularly in South Texas, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings. But apprehension numbers are well below their historical highs from previous decades.
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2:30 p.m.
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s order denying asylum to migrants if they cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in San Francisco and argues the new rules are against the law. Attorney Lee Gelernt says the regulations will put families in danger.
The suit seeks to declare the regulations invalid and want a judge to stop rules from going into effect while the litigation is pending.
The new rules were spurred in part by caravans of Central American migrants slowly moving north on foot, but officials say they will apply to anyone caught crossing illegally.
Officials say about 70,000 people who enter the country illegally claim asylum.
The order invoked the same national security powers Trump used to push through his travel ban.
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10:10 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he hopes a legal battle over an Obama-era program shielding young immigrants from deportation goes to the Supreme Court.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday decided to keep in place an injunction blocking Trump’s decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.
Lawsuits by California and others challenging the Trump administration’s decision will continue in federal court while the injunction remains in place.
DACA has protected 700,000 people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families that overstayed visas.
The Trump administration has said it moved last year to end DACA because Texas and other states threatened to sue, raising the prospect of a chaotic end to the program.
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9:20 a.m.
President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation to deny asylum to migrants who enter the United States illegally through the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump invoked the same national security powers he used to push his travel ban through. He says he wants people to come to the U.S. legally.
The move on Friday was spurred in part by caravans of Central American migrants slowly moving north on foot, but officials say it will apply to anyone caught crossing illegally.
Officials say the measure is meant to funnel asylum seekers through official border crossings for speedy rulings instead of having them try to circumvent such crossings on the nearly 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) stretch.
The busy ports of entry already have long lines and waits, forcing immigration officials to tell some migrants to return to make their claims.
Trump’s proclamation puts into practice regulations adopted by immigration officials on Thursday.
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12:50 a.m.
The Trump administration says it will deny asylum to migrants who enter the country illegally. The administration is invoking extraordinary presidential national security powers to tighten the border as caravans of Central Americans slowly approach the United States.
The measures are meant to funnel asylum seekers through official border crossings for speedy rulings, officials said, instead of having them try to circumvent such crossings on the nearly 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) border. But the busy ports of entry already have long lines and waits, forcing immigration officials to tell some migrants to come back to make their claims.
The move was spurred in part by caravans of Central American migrants slowly moving north on foot, but officials say it will apply to anyone caught crossing illegally.
https://www.apnews.com/2eff798d70024a0d869d966cf8e0588a
