The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals made a rather shocking decision on Tuesday night. The Court ruled alongside the Trump administration, saying asylum seekers can be sent back to Mexico while they wait for their court dates. This order temporarily overturns a previous decision that blocked the "Remain in Mexico" policy while the merits of the case are considered, Fox News reported.
“DHS is likely to suffer irreparable harm absent a stay because the preliminary injunction takes off the table one of the few congressionally authorized measures available to process the approximately 2,000 migrants who are currently arriving at the nation’s southern border on a daily basis,” Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain said in an 11-page opinion. He believes the Trump administration will win based on federal immigration and regulatory laws, POLITICO reported.
Two other judges disagreed.
“The government is wrong,” Judge William Fletcher said, arguing that existing federal statutes prevented DHS from sending the asylum seekers back to Mexico. “Not just arguably wrong, but clearly and flagrantly wrong.“
Although the three-judge panel had varying opinions, they concluded it wasn't unreasonable for the policy to remain in place for the time being, the New York Times reported.
“The plaintiffs fear substantial injury upon return to Mexico, but the likelihood of harm is reduced somewhat by the Mexican government’s commitment to honor its international-law obligations and to grant humanitarian status and work permits to individuals returned,” the judges concluded.
The policy was originally implemented under former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen who departed from the Trump administration last month.
“Aliens trying to game the system to get into our country illegally will no longer be able to disappear into the United States,” Nielsen said when she introduced the policy.