Free Republic

It’s time to start thinking about what our immigration system might look like in a post-coronavirus world. it won't be what it is now.President Trump’s announcement late Tuesday night that he would sign an executive order “to temporarily suspend immigration” was met with predictable charges of racism, xenophobia, and scapegoating from mainstream media pundits and Democrats who see it as a cynical attempt to use the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to enact his hardline immigration agenda. But in fact an executive order suspending all immigration would just be a formal acknowledgement of the current status quo. The emergency measures...

We're in an era of firsts, a runaway virus from China comes to mind, but this announcement by President Trump is the very first time anyone has heard an American president make this pronouncement. President Trump has announced that he's "temporarily suspending immigration into the United States." In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!

As part of an unprecedented $2 trillion stimulus bill expected to pass the Senate on Wednesday night, many Americans experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 will soon be eligible for a $1,200 check and expanded unemployment benefits. But despite promises from Democratic congressional leaders, the sweeping legislation will leave behind some of the country's most vulnerable residents: undocumented immigrants and mixed status families. According to a draft of the bill, the relief explicitly excludes those without Social Security numbers from obtaining the one-time cash assistance payments that will soon be sent to millions of Americans. Even more glaring, advocates said,...

The Supreme Court issued an Order this morning, at the URL above, staying enforcement of a trial court order that had barred the Trump Administration from enforcing its policy requiring those applying for asylum having come from Mexico to remain in Mexico until the application is ruled on. The policy is being challenged in court,and the Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to review the trial court order barring enforcement. The Supreme Court says today that Trump can continue to enforce the policy while the legal challenge continues. One is tempted to read the tea leaves and see this...

The Trump administration told the Supreme Court that a foreigner who entered the country unlawfully and was thrice denied asylum during administrative proceedings doesn’t have the legal right to challenge an expedited removal order in the courts. If the government loses the appeal in the case, known as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) v. Thuraissigiam, the flow of illegal aliens and would-be asylees to the United States could accelerate at a time when the Trump administration has been trying to curb the flow of such people into the country. In ruling on the case, the Supreme Court could clarify what,...

The Trump administration will deploy 160 active-duty soldiers to two cities adjacent the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Friday said it would deploy 80 active-duty soldiers to San Diego's San Ysidro border and 80 troops to El Paso's Paso del Norte bridge as soon as Saturday to aid customs officials at entry points, according to USA Today. The decision comes as the administration requests the Supreme Court to uphold the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) or "Remain in Mexico" policy after a lower federal district court in California ruled against the plan last April, saying it violates...

In a torturous, twisted interpretation of federal immigration law, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary court order Friday to block the Trump administration from continuing to implement its Migrant Protection Protocols, known informally as the Remain-in-Mexico policy. But shortly after issuing the ruling, the three-judge panel voted 2-1 to put a hold on it, preventing it from going into force until the federal government can file written arguments by the end of Monday in favor of the Remain-in-Mexico policy and plaintiffs can respond by the end of Tuesday arguing in favor of...

Trump administration reveals 'birth tourism' crackdown: Pregnant women trying to travel to the U.S. to get American citizenship for their babies will be REFUSED visas Trump administration will unveils crackdown on birth tourism and will bring it into force Friday Move is against women who come to the U.S. to give birth to children so they get American citizenship Visa applicants deemed by consular officers to be coming to the U.S. primarily to give birth will now be treated like other foreigners seeking medical treatment The applicants will have to prove they are coming for medical treatment and they have...

The Trump administration is reportedly planning to unveil a rule this week aimed at cracking down on "birth tourism" — a term referring to pregnant women traveling to the U.S. in order to give birth and secure U.S. citizenship for their child. Three officials told Axios on Sunday that the plain will be unveiled in the days ahead, though it was unclear what enforcement mechanism would be utilized by the administration to prevent birth tourism. President Trump has previously threatened to issue executive orders nullifying birthright citizenship, which is enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. "This change is...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has arrested 90 additional foreign-born students in recent months in a sting operation at a fake Michigan university designed to draw in students who are trying to stay in the U.S. illegally, according to a new report. The University of Farmington advertised a "dynamic business administration and STEM curriculum” program, but the students, mostly from India, "knew that they would not attend any actual classes, earn credits or make academic progress towards an actual degree,” according to a January indictment. A total of about 250 students have been arrested since the school opened in...

SAN DIEGO—Immigration judges in this city are presenting a challenge to the Trump administration’s policy of sending asylum-seeking migrants back to Mexico, terminating such cases at a significantly higher rate than in any other court, according to federal data. Between January and the end of September, immigration judges in San Diego terminated 33% of more than 12,600 Migrant Protection Protocols cases, also known as Remain in Mexico, according to data collected by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. Judges in El Paso, Texas, the busiest court hearing MPP cases, terminated fewer than 1% of their more than 14,000...

The Supreme Court heard oral argument today in the case challenging President Trump’s decision to shut down the DACA program, established by President Obama, that allows undocumented young adults who came to the United States as children to apply for protection from deportation. Obama had said that, because he is not a king, he lacked the power to institute this kind of program. Frustrated, though, by Congress’s inactivity, Obama eventually played the part of king and established DACA. The Trump administration reversed Obama’s program after Attorney General Sessions concluded, correctly, that it was “effectuated . . . without proper statutory authority.” The...

WASHINGTON — A bare majority of the U.S. Supreme Court appeared likely Tuesday to let the Trump administration follow through on its plan to shut down DACA, the federal program that has allowed nearly 800,000 young people, known as dreamers, to avoid deportation and remain in the U.S. With hundreds of DACA supporters rallying outside — so many that police shut down the street in front of the Supreme Court — the justices heard nearly an hour and a half of oral arguments. Based on their questions, it appeared that the court's five conservatives were inclined to rule that the...

The long-running battle over the Trump administration’s bid to end the Obama-era program for young undocumented immigrants known as “Dreamers” will land before the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

A federal judge in Portland, Oregon, has put on hold a Trump administration rule requiring immigrants to prove they will have health insurance or can pay for medical care before they can get visas. US district judge Michael Simon granted a temporary restraining order that prevented the rule from going into effect Sunday. It was not clear when he would rule on the merits of the case. Seven US citizens and a non-profit organization filed the federal lawsuit on Wednesday, contending the rule would block nearly two-thirds of all prospective legal immigrants. The lawsuit also said the rule would greatly reduce or...

"It was always told to me that you needed a Constitutional amendment.  Guess what?  You don't.  Number one, you don't need that.  Number two, you can definitely do it with an act of Congress.  But now they're saying I can do it just with an executive order."  —President Donald Trump, explaining that it is constitutional for the president to clarify the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment with an executive order, for enforcement purposes The Anchor Baby Debate Resurfaces Last year, President Trump explained in an interview with Axios that the ending of birthright citizenship can be accomplished "just with an executive order."  The issue is coming...

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wants more than a wall to keep out immigrants living in the country illegally. He also wants to end "birthright citizenship" for their children, he said Sunday. And he would rescind Obama administration executive orders on immigration and toughen deportation, allowing in only "the good ones." Trump described his expanded vision of how to secure American borders during a wide-ranging interview Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press," saying that he would push to end the constitutionally protected right of any family living illegally inside the U.S. ...

President Trump made a whirlwind tour through San Diego, exuding optimism, vim and vigor.He was in full command at his press conference at the border wall, and the local press coverage, at least as seen on television, was strikingly positive. I watched the live coverage on the local stations here in San Diego. They just let him talk - a fairly long version is here and a shortened shareable form is here: A local Fox News affiliate has a great second segment: ABC's KGTV local affiliate's television coverage, including the post-visit analysis, was even better, but it's not on the web, so...

“Build the wall" became the unofficial rallying cry of then-candidate Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. Three years later, amid a series of legal and political setbacks that have raised questions about the project's future, the Trump administration is making a renewed effort to show voters the U.S.-Mexico border wall remains a top priority — touting recent construction and vowing to pick up the pace going into 2020. The purchase of critical strips of private land has cleared the way, they argue, for a new phase. The plan, officials told reporters at a briefing this week, is to construct upwards of 450-500...

The Trump administration can deny asylum to Central Americans who cross through to the U.S., the Supreme Court said Wednesday, giving new life to White House efforts to deter a flood of immigrants seeking refuge at the southern border. The policy, one of several measures the Trump administration has taken to deter immigration from Latin America, demands that refugees seek asylum in a safe country they enter before reaching the U.S. The rules effectively cut off most asylum claims by people coming from El Salvador, Guatemala or Honduras. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, filed a dissent.