POLITICS NEWS – Trump suspends asylum for immigrants fleeing deadly circumstances

Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer

Trump signed an executive order this week that suspended immigrants’ ability to seek asylum in the U.S. through the country’s southern border with Mexico. Critics say this executive order is likely Trump’s first step toward suspending asylum indefinitely, but it is expected to be challenged in court, as with many of Trump’s other executive orders. Asylum has been a major draw for immigrants to the U.S. since the law was enacted in 1980. It allows those who fear for their lives in their home countries to seek refuge in the U.S., provided they can show credible proof or evidence of fleeing such peril.

In a fact sheet posted on Wednesday, the White House stated: “Through the exercise of his authority, President Trump has further restricted access to the provisions of the immigration laws that would enable any illegal alien involved in an invasion across the southern border of the United States to remain in the United States, such as asylum.” Both Democratic and Republican presidents in the past have made it difficult to seek asylum, but Trump is the first to take action to suspend the practice entirely at the southern border.

This order is one of many executive orders that Trump has issued in his first few days in office. Additionally, Trump shut down the mobile app used by immigrants seeking asylum to schedule appointments with U.S. immigration officials.