Federal asylum law to change; requiring asylum-seekers to first try elsewhere

[cinyc]

Unless I’m mistaken, this is contrary to the plain language of the law. Expect it to be blocked by the courts pretty swiftly (Trump of course knows this already and is just throwing red meat to his base).

No, it’s not. Asylum seekers must seek asylum in the first safe country through which they pass under US Laws and treaties. That’s always been the law.

Will it be blocked by the courts? I’m sure opponents will judge shop and a Hawaiian (or whatever) lower court judge will try to issue a nationwide injunction again, but the appeals courts aren’t as liberal as they used to be.

[cinyc]

This will be shot down in court simply because the US does not have a Safe Third Country Agreement with Mexico. The US only has such a law with Canada. Without that agreement with Mexico, US law does not recognize Mexico as a safe third country and, therefore, migrants cannot be rejected for asylum in the US on the basis that they should've applied for asylum in Mexico instead. That's simply not permissible under existing American asylum laws.

Link to source

Or so claims a liberal activist group. We'll have to wait and see what the courts actually decide. The proposed policy is no different than most European countries - you have to claim asylum in the first safe country you transit.

[cinyc]

This will be shot down in court simply because the US does not have a Safe Third Country Agreement with Mexico. The US only has such a law with Canada. Without that agreement with Mexico, US law does not recognize Mexico as a safe third country and, therefore, migrants cannot be rejected for asylum in the US on the basis that they should've applied for asylum in Mexico instead. That's simply not permissible under existing American asylum laws.

Link to source

Or so claims a liberal activist group. We'll have to wait and see what the courts actually decide. The proposed policy is no different than most European countries - you have to claim asylum in the first safe country you transit.

Here’s the statute in black and white.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1158

This isn’t something Trump can change unilaterally.

Sure he can. All it takes is an agreement with Mexico - which is precisely what Trump was trying to get Mexico to sign last month during the NAFTA kerfuffle. He'd be more than willing to use NAFTA again as a bargaining chip to get that deal done. The agreement does not need to be a treaty. It also could be multilateral - so the Trump administration could argue that current treaties with Mexico or that Mexico is a signatory to are sufficient.

There are plenty of arguments that the Trump administration could make - and the courts aren't as packed with Democratic nominees as they used to be. Will Democrats find a Hawaiian (or whatever) judge or two to initially rule against Trump? Probably. But your preferred outcome isn't guaranteed in the circuit courts any more.