US Supreme Court allows Trump to slam door on asylum seekers

Salvadorans fleeing violence and persecution because of their political beliefs, their religion, their sexual orientation, their opposition to gangs, their gender, or any other reason will be precluded from seeking asylum in the US under a ruling Wednesday from the US Supreme Court.   At least while lower court litigation is still pending, the court ruled that the Trump administration may enforce a rule (known by its critics as "Asylum Ban 2.0") that denies asylum to anyone who crossed the southern US border after July 16, 2019 unless they first applied for and were denied asylum in Mexico (or another country like Guatemala). 

This rule now applies to thousands of Salvadorans who crossed the border in just the past several weeks since July 16.  It will also apply to Salvadorans who are currently waiting in lines at US border crossing points to request asylum the "right way", under a US practice of "metering" the number of asylum seekers who can enter.

Meanwhile, for those who entered before July 16, at least 3182 Salvadorans were returned to Mexico under the so-called Migrant Protection Protocols or "Remain in Mexico" program where asylum seekers are dumped back in dangerous Mexican border towns to wait for their hearing dates in US immigration court.   Migrants in this program have incredible challenges finding lawyers, or presenting an asylum case in court, while trying to survive in Mexico.

News also surfaced this week that the Trump administration hopes to cancel the current legal status of children from El Salvador who received humanitarian parole into the US under the Central American Minors Program.   Trump had already closed the program to new applicants, but now plans to deport those children who had already arrived in the US.

And finally, only court injunctions prevent the Trump administration from terminating protection under DACA and TPS for more than 200,000 Salvadorans.