Trump admin can't limit asylum protections for domestic and gang violence victims, judge rules

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration's policy that makes it difficult for victims fleeing domestic and gang violence to qualify for asylum in the United States and ruled that some people deported under the policy have to be returned.

In a rebuke of the policy established by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Judge Emmet Sullivan agreed with a group of women and children who argued the policy unlawfully imposed a heightened standard in reviewing their claims, concluding that the administration must stop deporting migrants currently in the US "without first providing credible fear determinations consistent with the immigration laws."

"It is the will of Congress -- not the whims of the Executive -- that determines the standard for expedited removal," wrote Sullivan of the US District Court for the District of Columbia.

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Earlier this year, Sessions said that in order to qualify for asylum, victims must show that their home country was unable or unwilling to assist them, and that "the government condoned the private actions."

The attorney general has full authority over the immigration courts -- a separate court system which operates under the Justice Department.

The ruling is the latest legal setback against President Donald Trump's efforts to limit asylum claims. Earlier this month, an appeals court upheld a ruling barring the administration from denying asylum to people crossing over the southern border between ports of entry.

During a hearing on the credible fear issue in August, Sullivan erupted at the Justice Department when it was revealed that two of the plaintiffs were literally on a plane to El Salvador while the hearing was going on. Sullivan ordered the two immediately returned to the US and threatened to hold Sessions and others in contempt.

The lead attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union on this case, Jennifer Chang Newell, welcomed the ruling, telling CNN, "We think that this is an important setback to the Trump administration's all-out assault on asylum seekers and we will keep fighting against these wrongheaded policies."

The Justice Department immediately asked Sullivan to place the ruling on hold, pending appeal, except in relation to the specific individuals who brought the legal challenge.

By Dan Berman, Tammy Kupperman, Geneva Sands and Laura Jarrett, CNN. The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

The Gayly – December 19, 2018 @ 12:30 p.m. CST.