Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Trump Administration Puts Tough New Asylum Rule Into Effect

Associated Press

   CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO - With a go-ahead from the Supreme Court, the
   Trump administration Thursday began enforcing a new rule denying asylum
   to most migrants arriving at the southern border--a move that spread
   despair among those fleeing poverty and violence in their homelands.
   A spokeswoman for theDepartment ofHomeland Security agency that manages
   asylum cases saidthe policy wouldbeeffectiveretroactive to July 16,
   when the rule was announced.
   The new policy would deny refuge to anyone at the U.S.-Mexico border
   who passes through another country on the way to the U.S. without first
   seeking asylum there.
   TheSupreme Court cleared the way, for now, to enforce it while legal
   challenges move forward.

   Previous asylum request is key
   Migrants who make their way to the U.S. overland from places like
   Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador would be largely ineligible, along
   with asylum seekers from Africa, Asia and South America who try to get
   in by way of the U.S.-Mexicoborder.
   Asylum seekers must pass an initial screening called a ``credible
   fear'' interview, a hurdle thatmostclear. Under the new policy, they
   would fail the test unless they sought asylum in at least one country
   they traveled through and were denied. They would be placed in
   fast-track deportation proceedings and flown to their home countries at
   U.S. expense.
   ``Our Supreme Court is sentencing people to death. There are no
   safeguards, no institutions to stop this cruelty,'' the
   immigration-assistance group AlOtroLado said in a statement.
   The Mexican government likewise called the high court's action
   ``astonishing.'' The effects of the new policy could fall heavily on
   Mexico, leaving the country with tens of thousands of poor and
   desperate migrants with no hope of getting into the U.S.

.