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For years, we have seen migrants from around the world enter the U.S. through asylum requests, requests the Trump administration refers to as “a huge loophole” in its efforts to protect the border. Now, however, the administration finally has a plan to close this loophole.
Pray for your fellow intercessor.
From POLITICO:
The Department of Homeland Security is asking courts to summarily dismiss asylum claims without a hearing and send migrants to a third country where they can pursue relief, even if they have no connection to that place. The federal government is relying on so-called safe third country agreements Trump officials have reached with a number of nations, including Uganda, Honduras and Ecuador …
The effort represents the latest attempt by the Trump administration to curtail immigration to the United States and meet its ambitious annual deportation goal of 1 million people. And it comes as asylum claims have increased significantly: There were nearly 900,000 asylum claims before the Executive Office of Immigration Review in Fiscal Year 2024, up from roughly 200,000 per year during Trump’s first term.
“Asylum was not designed to provide people a backdoor way to get to a country of their choosing,” said a senior administration official, granted anonymity to discuss internal thinking about the strategy. “If the United States is confident that they can be successfully removed to another country where they will not be threatened, then there’s no reason or expectation that they should be allowed to remain here.”
POLITICO, known for its left-wing bias, portrays this move as a bad thing. The article quotes Rebekah Wolf, a staff attorney with the immigration justice campaign and policy department of the American Immigration Council, who accused the Trump administration of working to strip “the ability to apply for asylum in the United States” from potential migrants.
The Trump administration, however, countered these fears and claims. The anonymous official argued that genuine Asylum applicants should only care about their immediate safety, not where they land. The official also added, “Many [immigration groups] somehow think that it’s bad to be doing this — that everyone should get a hearing, no matter anything else. But the reality from our perspective is, it is the law. And you may disagree with the law, but the way to address that is through Congress.”
This decision comes amid a larger push to secure our borders. Since taking office again, President Trump has been focused on bringing an end to illegal immigration. The President scored another win in this fight just recently, as a federal judge cleared the way for the administration to share data about illegal immigrants receiving health insurance with ICE.
As the President works to close this loophole that’s made America less safe and less secure, let’s pray for him!
Share your prayers and scriptures in the comments below.
(Excerpt from POLITICO. Photo Credit: Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)
