This is a bad way of framing it — it makes what Trump was trying to do sound more reasonable than it is.
What the judge did was bar the Trump admin from banning migrants from applying for asylum if they didn't go through a port of entry.
What the judge did was bar the Trump admin from banning migrants from applying for asylum if they didn't go through a port of entry.
There are many reasons the judge did this.
1) The law doesn't say asylum seekers must use a POE.
2) Crossing outside a POE is a misdemeanor. It isn't relevant to whether their claim has merit.
3) Trump's agents are blocking POEs so migrants can't actually follow his directive!
1) The law doesn't say asylum seekers must use a POE.
2) Crossing outside a POE is a misdemeanor. It isn't relevant to whether their claim has merit.
3) Trump's agents are blocking POEs so migrants can't actually follow his directive!
By focusing on the fact that these migrants committed a misdemeanor, headlines like this help Trump.
The headline should much more emphasize that Trump *doesn't have authority under federal law* to base the processing of asylum claims on whether migrants used a port of entry.
The headline should much more emphasize that Trump *doesn't have authority under federal law* to base the processing of asylum claims on whether migrants used a port of entry.
There should also be more emphasis on the fact that Trump's border agents are extralegally preventing migrants from actually following the process they claim is the "legal" way.
Trump effectively killed the asylum process altogether. He can't do that. Hence the court ruling.
Trump effectively killed the asylum process altogether. He can't do that. Hence the court ruling.
The way the media reports these stories reflects the way Republicans have spent years distorting the debate on immigration.
All the emphasis is on whether people get in legally. None is on the arbitrary way our system makes some people illegal with no method to enter legally.
All the emphasis is on whether people get in legally. None is on the arbitrary way our system makes some people illegal with no method to enter legally.
