Two Democrat-appointed judges have struck down President Donald Trump’s border restrictions against asylum seekers, prompting applause from open-borders advocates in the ACLU and the Democratic Party.
“We conclude that the [immigration law’s] text, structure, and history make clear… Congress did not intend to grant the Executive the expansive removal authority it asserts,” says the split opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The case will be appealed to the Supreme Court, but it is not clear if Trump’s January 2025 curbs will remain active for many months before the Supreme Court’s eventual decision.
A Trump-nominated judge, Justin Walker, defended Trump’s policies in his dissenting opinion:
In sum, although I agree with the majority on several fronts, I disagree on three: First, the district court improperly issued relief to innumerable [migrant] individuals without standing. Second, the [President] Executive possesses discretion to categorically and ex ante deny asylum, and once he has done so, he need not accept frivolous and futile asylum applications. Third, [Congress’ law] § 1252(f)(1) stripped the district court of authority to issue the injunction in this case.
The majority option was written by Judge J. Michelle Childs and supported by Judge Nina Pillard.
Childs was nominated by President Joe Biden. Pillard was nominated by pro-migration President Barack Obama, and is married to the ACLU’s legal director, David Cole.
“The court’s opinion does not mean there are now open borders, but only that the United States will no longer be one of the few countries in the world [that] does not provide a hearing for those fleeing persecution,” the ACLU lawyer who argued the case told The Washington Post.
Obama and Joe Biden overwhelmed the asylum process by inviting millions of migrants from poor countries into Americans’ workplaces, despite federal laws capping immigration at roughly 1 million per year.
For example, Biden’s “catch and release” policy fueled the cartel-dominated migration pipeline by allowing millions of migrants to get U.S. jobs — and so repay smuggling debts — while their asylum pleas stalled in the backlogged courts.
That cheap-labor policy stalled wages, spiked housing costs, reduced births, fueled inflation, reduced investment in workplace technology — and ensured the reelection of Trump in 2024.
The Democrats’ loose border laws also killed thousands of migrants and more than 1,000 Americans.
Millions of illegal migrants are still in the asylum process, making it difficult for them to be deported.
Since Trump’s 2024 win, many Democrats and Democratic-nominated judges have become more radical as they try to stop Trump’s pro-American migration reforms.