The Trump administration attempts to formulate a coherent policy to deal with migrants and asylum seekers.
While President Donald Trump has denied outright that he is planning a new crackdown on migrants at the southern border of the US, senior administration officials have contradicted his account. This all comes as the persons in charge of broader US immigration policy have been removed and reshuffled due in large part to the President’s dissatisfaction over the large numbers of immigrants that have arrived in recent weeks at the country’s southern border. In March 103,000 migrants entered the US, the highest number in more than ten years.
Although the proposed implementation of new immigration policies has been downplayed by President Trump, these are expected to be extreme and wide-ranging. It is rumoured that the unpopular and possibly illegal policy of family separations will be re-introduced this time with a slight variation: migrant parents would be given a “binary choice” whereby they could choose between being detained with their children in jail-like facilities or agree to a separation under which the children would be taken out of detention and placed with a guardian or in a shelter.
Several previous attempts at creating a less-than-welcoming environment for migrants like, the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy of returning asylum seekers to Mexico while their cases are processed, have been thrown out by the courts. The President does not have the backing of Congress on immigration issues which will limit the extent of what can be done.
Immigration rights groups warn that the proposals could lead to violations of international obligations and constitutional law and be subject to legal challenges.
