Migrants in caravan sue Trump administration for 'right' to seek asylum
A dozen Honduran migrants headed to the United States in a caravan of
4,000 have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, saying
they're being denied their legal right to seek asylum.
The class-action suit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
The plaintiffs, six adults and their children, say the U.S.
administration's actions "abuse the law, including constitutional
rights, to deter Central Americans from exercising their lawful right to
seek asylum in the United States."
Michael Shoreman, the migrants' attorney in the case, said President
Donald Trump's policy violates the Fifth Amendment, which holds that no
person is to "be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law." The law applies to undocumented immigrants, as well,
although the process is variable, depending on what legal precedent is
applied.
The suit asks the federal court to invalidate several of Trump's policy
proposals as unconstitutional. Trump has said the migrants, who are
traveling from Honduras to the U.S. border through Mexico, will be
housed in massive tent cities on the border -- an act the suit says
likely violates a government agreement on the detention of children.
Trump said he plans to mobilize as many as 7,000 U.S. troops to provide
support at the border. The Pentagon has increased the scale of
deployment three times over the past week.
About 1,000 troops have arrived and are in place around McAllen, Texas;
Brownsville, Texas; San Ysidro, Calif. and Nogales, Ariz. Officials
believe each is a likely port of entry for at least three caravans
presently headed for the United States.
The first group is about 800 miles from the border.
"The legal problem with Trump's plan to stop caravan persons from
entering this country is that plaintiffs are seeking asylum, and Trump
simply cannot stop them from legally doing so by using military, or
anyone," the lawsuit says.
If the migrants succeed, migrants in the caravan would be entitled to a
hearing to review their requests for asylum. Trump has said none of the
migrants will be allowed to cross into the United States.
Trump, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security
Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen are named as defendants in the suit, as well
as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border
Patrol and the Citizenship and Immigration Services.
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