Attorney General Becerra Continues Fight Against Trump Administration Effort to Block Access to Asylum

Files friend-of-the-court brief in opposition to unlawful rule that would put asylum-seekers at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 at the southern border

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra today led a coalition of 22 attorneys general in an amicus brief opposing the Trump Administration’s unlawful regulation prohibiting individuals from applying for asylum if they have entered the United States between ports of entry. A federal district court correctly nullified the regulation as contrary to statutes passed by Congress allowing all individuals who flee to our country due to persecution in their countries of origin to apply for protection, regardless of how they enter. The Trump Administration is now asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to overturn that decision. In the friend-of-the-court brief, the attorneys general argue that the Trump Administration's unlawful policies harm the coalition states — where the majority of asylum seekers resettle — by leaving states to help mitigate the entirely unnecessary suffering that these policies cause. The attorneys general further assert that the rule, in conjunction with other unlawful restrictions on asylum imposed by the Trump Administration, traps people fleeing persecution in unsanitary camps at the southern border, putting them at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 and exposing them to numerous other dangers.

“For those fleeing persecution, President Trump isn’t just missing in action, he’s actively making things worse,” said Attorney General Becerra. “His administration has taken every opportunity to create a dizzying web of unlawful and heartless practices aimed at eradicating meaningful access to asylum. Even worse, they’ve unilaterally stopped processing new asylum claims at the border entirely. Here in California, we will fight every step of the way to push back. We are a nation with a strong tradition of protecting people who come to our shores seeking refuge from persecution and it’s time our federal government remembers that.” 

The Trump Administration’s rule barring people from applying for asylum if they enter between ports of entry is part of a series of restrictive and punitive policies aimed at dismantling the existing asylum system. The amicus brief argues that this rule, in combination with existing policies to turn away people who present themselves at the border, makes it difficult or impossible for asylum-seekers to present their claims. Some of the alleged tactics employed by border officials include falsely informing people that the United States no longer provides asylum and intimidating asylum-seekers by threatening to take away their children if they do not renounce their claim for protection. These tactics and other policies amount to a de facto denial of asylum. As a result, the rule violates the law and creates inhumane conditions at the border, forcing already vulnerable families to experience additional trauma, face further persecution, and be denied basic health services, education, and other life essentials — all the while being put at greater risk for contracting COVID-19. Despite these conditions, the Trump Administration has stopped processing asylum-seekers at ports of entry, leaving approximately 14,400 migrants stuck waiting for an opportunity to have their claims heard.

The amicus brief — building on earlier successful efforts to block the Trump Administration’s interim final rule on port of entry requirements in the Ninth Circuit — asserts that the Trump Administration’s anti-asylum rule:

• Threatens to exacerbate inhumane border conditions and cause additional trauma to already vulnerable migrants and their families, including LGBTQ immigrants;
• Would harm states by creating greater challenges to efforts to help asylum-seekers resettle and contribute to communities across the country; and
• Violates the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to provide any meaningful opportunity for states and communities to provide public comment.

Attorney General Becerra remains committed to fighting for the rights of hard-working immigrants in California and across the country. Last month, the Attorney General filed a comment letter pushing back against the latest Trump Administration attempt to upend the existing asylum system. Following widespread public outcry and a lawsuit filed by the State of California, the Trump Administration ditched its dangerous directive on student visas. In June, Attorney General Becerra, leading a coalition of 21 attorneys general, secured a landmark U.S. Supreme Court victory upholding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, which protects more than 180,000 Dreamers in California alone. Earlier, he blasted the Trump Administration for moving the goalposts on asylum eligibility and fought back against a proposal that would prevent asylum-seekers and their families from becoming self-sufficient while awaiting adjudication of their cases. In 2019, the Attorney General led a multistate comment letter condemning the interim final rule on asylum cooperative agreements. Attorney General Becerra also filed a lawsuit in opposition to a rule circumventing protections for children under the Flores Settlement Agreement, which was permanently blocked by a federal court in September of 2019.

In filing today’s amicus brief, Attorney General Becerra is joined by the Attorneys General of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

A copy of the amicus brief is available here.