Donald Trump to keep migrants in detention until their asylum cases are heard

Ahead of next week’s elections, Donald Trump will sign an executive order to keep immigrants in detention until their asylum cases are heard.

US President Donald Trump speaks about immigration in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, DC.

President Donald Trump wants to keep immigrants who are apprehended at the border in detention until their asylum cases are heard, rather than be released into the US while awaiting their hearings.

His remarks this morning are the latest hard-line immigration pledge the president has made ahead of the midterm elections next week. It follows on the heels of his plan to send thousands of US troops to support border-control efforts and his claim that he intends to use an executive order to end birthright citizenship for children born to illegal immigrants, something legal scholars called unconstitutional.

In his remarks, Mr Trump said he intends to sign a “comprehensive” executive order next week about holding apprehended migrants, including those seeking asylum status. Mr Trump gave few details, but said the plan would involve housing migrants in tents and other facilities.

“The endemic abuse of our asylum system makes a mockery of our immigration system and displacing legitimate asylum seekers, and there are legitimate asylum seekers,” Mr Trump said in a White House speech. He said smugglers and human traffickers had learned how to “game” the US system.

Illegal immigration affects the lives of all Americans. Illegal Immigration hurts American workers, burdens American taxpayers, undermines public safety, and places enormous strain on local schools, hospitals and communities...https://t.co/eN1IqPNBJY

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 1, 2018

Mr Trump also said that, under his plan, migrants seeking asylum would have to present themselves at an official point of entry. “Those who choose to break our laws and enter illegally will no longer be able to use meritless [asylum] claims to gain automatic admission into our country,” he said. Current US law states that “any alien who is physically present” in the country can apply for asylum, within a year of arriving.

Earlier this year, officials at the Department of Homeland Security publicly encouraged would-be asylum seekers to ask for refuge at points of entry, saying that was the only legal way to apply for asylum at the border. Since spring, foreigners have routinely had to wait days or weeks to cross the border at entry points to seek asylum.

Mr Trump also issued a warning to the two caravans of migrants in Mexico headed to the US from Honduras: “They should turn back now — they are wasting their time.” He said “Caravan 2” is packed with “unbelievably rough people.”

Mr Trump suggested the US military would shoot migrants or protesters who threw rocks. “We will consider that a firearm,” he said.

The Pentagon didn’t respond to questions about the president’s comments.

On Tuesday, the top commander for the troop movement to the border said troops there would be trained on the “standard rules for the use of force.”

A retired military commander said laws and longstanding rules wouldn’t allow US military personnel to shoot at someone armed with a rock. “Individuals have the responsibility…to take the moral high ground,” said retired Army Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling. “A rock does not engender a shooting response.”

Mr Trump focused his remarks on what he calls the current “catch and release” policy, which allows immigrants to go free on the condition they will return for a court hearing on their case. Some of these people don’t return for their hearings.

Together, we are Making America Safe and Great Again! https://t.co/0pWiwCHGbh pic.twitter.com/rWl5aSpY3O

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 1, 2018

Mr Trump defended the legality of his latest plan, amid questions about how it would comply with U.S. law governing the treatment of asylum seekers and their children.

But legal questions abound. For instance, a 1997 court settlement prevents authorities from detaining children for more than 20 days.

Immigrant advocacy groups accused Mr Trump of manufacturing a crisis and ignoring practical steps that could alleviate strains at the border.

“There’s a solution here if the president wants it: Devote resources to independent immigration judges who will consider claims for asylum fairly and accept or reject them quickly,” said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, which seeks comprehensive immigration-law changes.

His comments today come as Mr Trump faces criticism over the release of an ad linking Democrats and immigrants to violent crime, with some fellow Republicans blasting it as “sickening” and the most racially divisive political ad in three decades

“This ad, and your full approval of it, will condemn you and your bigoted legacy forever in the annals of America’s history books,” Al Cardenas, the Florida Republican Party’s former chairman, wrote on Twitter.

The online ad features courtroom footage of Luis Bracamontes — an illegal immigrant from Mexico convicted in the 2014 killings of two police officers in Sacramento, California — saying in accented English he would kill more cops. The ad cuts between clips of Bracamontes and scenes of migrants.

“Who else would Democrats let in?” asks the ad, which Mr Trump tweeted this week.

It is outrageous what the Democrats are doing to our Country. Vote Republican now! https://t.co/0pWiwCHGbh pic.twitter.com/2crea9HF7G

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2018

The ad ends with the tag: “President Donald J. Trump and Republicans are making America Safe Again!”.

Mr Trump’s presidential re-election campaign paid for the ad, US news media reported. The campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Wall Street Journal, Reuters