Where The Trump Administration's Immigration Policy Stands Now

With Meghna Chakrabarti

The Supreme Court hands the Trump Administration a win on the border wall. ICE gets expanded power to deport undocumented immigrants without a hearing. We have the latest on the administration’s immigration policy.

Guests

Alan Gomez, immigration reporter for USA Today. (@alangomez)

Ur Jaddou, chief counsel of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a component of the Department of Homeland Security, from 2014 to 2017. Former chief counsel to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security in the U.S. House of Representatives. Director of Department of Homeland Security Watch for America’s Voice, an immigrant advocacy group. (@UrJaddou)

John Daniel Davidson, Immigration and border policy expert for Texas Public Policy Foundation, a free-enterprise research institute. Senior correspondent at The Federalist. (@johnddavidson)

From The Reading List

Wall Street Journal: “Trump Scores Two Victories on Border” — “President Trump won two victories on his border agenda Friday, with the Supreme Court allowing the use of military funds to expand the barrier on the Mexican border while Guatemala agreed to serve as gatekeeper for asylum seekers trying to get to the U.S.

“In a 5-4 decision, the justices of the U.S. high court said President Trump can shift about $2.5 billion in military funds to construct an additional 100 miles of wall at the U.S.-Mexico border in an effort to seal off the U.S. from illegal immigration.

“In February, Mr. Trump had declared a national emergency in order to divert a total of $6.7 billion from military and other sources, without the approval of Congress, which had signaled willingness to give him far less. Lower courts had barred the transfer of some of the funds desired by the president, but the Supreme Court on Friday ordered those lower court rulings to be suspended.

“‘Wow! Big VICTORY on the Wall,’ Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter. ‘The United States Supreme Court overturns lower court injunction, allows Southern Border Wall to proceed. Big WIN for Border Security and the Rule of Law.’

“Separately, under pressure from the Trump administration, Guatemala agreed to require migrants traveling through it to the U.S. to seek asylum there instead of at the U.S.-Mexico border.”

CBS News: “ICE gets expanded power to swiftly deport more undocumented immigrants” — “The Trump administration is moving to significantly expand the number of undocumented immigrants who can be deported swiftly without a hearing in immigration court.

“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who remove people from the country, announced on Monday that it will now apply the practice of expedited removal — a fast-tracked deportation process — to undocumented immigrants across the country who fail to demonstrate they’ve been residing in the U.S. continuously for two years or more.

“The change represents a dramatic shift in the way expedited removals have been applied in the past. Previously, immigrants who fell into two categories were subject to expedited deportation: border-crossing migrants who authorities encountered within 100 miles of either border who had been in the U.S. for less than two weeks, and undocumented immigrants anywhere in country who came by sea and lived in the U.S. for less than two years.”

BuzzFeed News: “The Trump Administration Is Readying Plans To Deny Asylum To Central Americans And Speed Up Deportations” — “The Trump administration is readying two policies that could dramatically reshape the immigration system — both within the US and at the border — by speeding up deportations inside the country and denying asylum to immigrants who traveled through Mexico to the southern border, according to multiple sources close to the administration.

“The policies, if implemented, would come in the form of regulatory changes — one an interim final rule and the other a notice — and become the latest in a series of attempts by the Trump administration to not only deter asylum-seekers from reaching the border but to increase deportations of unauthorized immigrants within the US.

“‘It’s a fundamental change in the way the immigration components will be doing their work,’ said Ur Jaddou, former chief counsel of US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

“Multiple sources close to the administration confirmed the plans were being actively considered. It’s unclear when the policies could be introduced — or whether they ultimately will be — but those close to the administration believe the changes could come soon.”

Washington Post: “Guatemala’s migrant pact with the U.S. threatens to unleash a political crisis” — “In pressuring Guatemala to accept a deal to absorb vast numbers of asylum seekers, the Trump administration has embarked on a dramatic and risky strategy to slash the number of Central Americans flooding the U.S. border.

“The accord — which was negotiated in secret and signed at the White House on Friday — could plunge Guatemala’s young democracy into a constitutional crisis, analysts warn. It could also saddle one of the hemisphere’s poorest countries with tens of thousands of Salvadoran and Honduran migrants who would be barred from making their claims in the United States.

“The agreement is one of the boldest steps yet taken by President Trump to stanch the flow of migrants to the U.S. border. It aims to close off the U.S. asylum system to the migrants who have crossed through Guatemala en route to the United States. They would instead have to seek protection in Guatemala.”

Grace Tatter produced this hour for broadcast.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org. [Copyright 2019 NPR]