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Thursday, November 1, 2018

Trump to speak on immigration as admin looks to limit asylum seekers

Trump's planned speech comes as his administration looks to limit the number of immigrants who can seek asylum in order to enter the US. Trump and allies have spoken frequently about so-called "loopholes" in immigration law that allow migrants to apply for asylum while on American soil, and the President has recently encouraged prospective asylum seekers to apply for entry from their home countries.
Trump has focused increasingly on immigration heading into the final days of the midterms, as Republicans across the country struggle to match their opponents in drumming up voter enthusiasm.
White House aides had considered having Trump deliver an immigration speech earlier in the week, but the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre Saturday scrambled those plans.
The Trump administration has been looking at ways to limit the number of asylum seekers.
CNN reported earlier this week that the Trump administration is also considering a plan to limit the number of migrants able to enter at legal ports of entry by "metering," essentially creating a waitlist to allow people to enter only if the Department of Homeland Security has the capacity to process and detain them at one of its facilities, a DHS official said.
In the past, the practice of metering has resulted in individuals deciding not to endure a lengthy wait to try to get into the country legally and instead to cross illegally. Should some of this group of migrants do the latter, they could face a tougher and higher standard for seeking asylum under the administration's plans.
Earlier this year, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that victims of gang and domestic violence no longer qualify for asylum. "Asylum was never meant to alleviate all problems, even all serious problems, that people face every day all over the world," Sessions said in June.
As attorney general, Sessions has broad power over asylum procedures and the immigration courts, which are under the auspices of the Justice Department.
He has also suggested that those claims should be rejected even before asylum seekers appear before a judge and begin court proceedings and that the simple fact of crossing the border illegally could also be a factor in rejecting an asylum claim.
Legal fight looms as Trump admin considers caravan order that could violate federal law
Migrants are currently allowed to seek asylum at any US port of entry, and also allowed to seek asylum if they are intercepted by authorities between ports of entry after illegally crossing into the United States.
The Immigration and Nationality Act states that anyone who arrives in the US "whether or not at a designated port of arrival" may apply for asylum if he or she has a "well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion."

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