Thread by @msbellows

This is the nonprofit my daughter's been working for. Amazing people doing amazing work on behalf of asylum-seekers and human and civil rights.

https://twitter.com/ThinkLawLab/status/1064896853085442048

Let's talk about the straightforward laws behind the court ruling Trump denounced today as the work of a biased "Obama judge," leading to his kerfuffle with Chief Justice Roberts. (Thread.)

The U.S. Constitution, Article VI, provides as follows:
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Thus, treaties are “the supreme law of the land,” equivalent in force to any other laws (and, vis-a-vis the States, to the Constitution itself).
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The key treaty here, to which the U.S. is a signatory and which therefore is the “supreme law of the land,” is the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocols Relating to the Status of Refugees (“Refugee Treaty”). (EMPHASIS in quotes below is added by me.)
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Trump claims he can close the Southern border to everyone from particular countries, or to everyone applying for refuge at the Southern border. But the Refugee Treaty bars such sweeping measures...
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Refugee Treaty, Article 3, non-discrimination: "The Contracting States shall apply the provisions of this Convention to refugees without discrimination as to race, religion OR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.”
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And Article 9 allows exceptions only in emergencies akin to war, only temporarily, and only with respect to INDIVIDUALS, not groups:
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The most recent case brought by @ThinkLawLab et al. concerns Trump's decision to deny the right to even APPLY for asylum to everyone who didn't enter the U.S. at an official port of entry. But the Refugee Treaty expressly states that that's a treaty violation:
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@ThinkLawLab The Congress has passed, and a former president signed, laws consistent with the above treaty obligations. 8 U.S. Code § 1158(a)(1) clearly states that Trump's order was illegal, too:
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@ThinkLawLab Let's re-read that last U.S. statute, for emphasis:

“Any alien who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States (WHETHER OR NOT AT A DESIGNATED PORT OF ARRIVAL... ), IRRESPECTIVE OF SUCH ALIEN'S STATUS, MAY APPLY FOR ASYLUM....”
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@ThinkLawLab These are the laws the “Obama judge” enforced. There's nothing vague or partisan about them. Any judge in his right mind would make the same ruling. THIS is why Roberts shushed him today.

Kudos to @ThinkLawLab for their excellent work getting them enforced.
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