Trump Claims Victory as Supreme Court Okays Asylum Limits

Jenny Yang, vice president of advocacy and policy with the humanitarian organization World Relief, appeared on Thursday's edition of CBN's Newswatch to talk about the Trump administration's policy of blocking US asylum for people who travel through another country like Mexico before arriving at the US border. 

President Trump's attempts to reduce the influx of migrant families coming to the United States got the significant backing of the Supreme Court Wednesday night.

The high court gave a green light the policy blocking US asylum for people who travel through another country to get here – like Mexico.

Mexico is pushing back on what many are calling a big victory for President Trump, Mexico's foreign secretary saying, "The court's decision is astonishing in the impact that it is going to have."

The court said it would for now allow the enforcement of a controversial measure that stops most Central American migrants from seeking asylum in the US.

The administration's goal is to deny asylum status to anyone who passes through another country, like Mexico, on their way to the US without seeking protection in Mexico first.

Seven of the nine Supreme Court justices agreed with the White House rule. Liberal Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.

"Big United States Supreme Court win for the border on asylum!" President Trump tweeted.

The policy targets tens of thousands of Central Americans who cross Mexico every month to try to enter the US.

It also affects the thousands of people on waiting lists at border crossings in Mexico seeking asylum.

Under the new rules, people from Africa, Asia and South America who regularly arrive at the southern border will also be impacted.

The justices' order temporarily reverses a lower-court ruling that had blocked the new asylum policy.

According to the latest figures from the US Customs and Border Protection Agency, nearly 820,000 people have been detained on the southern border to date. Nearly 600,000 of them were from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

A US Justice Department spokesperson said the decision would help "to bring order to the crisis at the southern border, close loopholes in our immigration system and discourage frivolous claims."

Meanwhile, Trump administration officials are expected to meet soon to discuss whether to further restrict the overall number of refugees accepted into the US.
 
Some officials in the administration are arguing that the number of refugees accepted into the US each year should be reduced to 15,000 or fewer, down from the current cap of 30,000.