US

Trump To Appeal 9th Circuit Court’s Ruling On Refugee Policy

REUTERS/Adrees Latif

David Krayden Ottawa Bureau Chief
Font Size:

President Donald Trump is appealing a federal judge’s decision to block the administration’s new policy on refugees. Trump labelled California justice Jon Tigar “an Obama judge” in response to what the president viewed as judicial activism.

As the Washington Examiner reports, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an appeal Tuesday evening in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Migrants, part of a caravan of thousands from Central America trying to reach the United States, negotiate with a Mexican police officer as they gather outside the El Chaparral port of entry border crossing between Mexico and the United States, in Tijuana, Mexico, Nov. 22, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

Migrants, part of a caravan of thousands from Central America trying to reach the United States, negotiate with a Mexican police officer as they gather outside the El Chaparral port of entry border crossing between Mexico and the United States, in Tijuana, Mexico, Nov. 22, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

U.S. District judge Jon Tigar put a stop to Trump’s plans to deny automatic refugee status to people entering the country illegally. Tigar ruled that as unconstitutional. (RELATED: Some Migrants Within 500 Feet Of US As Trump Reiterates Threat To Seal Border)

“This was an Obama judge,” Trump said. “And I’ll tell you what, it’s not going to happen like this anymore.”

President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media prior to his departure from the White House Nov. 20, 2018 in Washington, DC. President Trump is traveling to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, for the Thanksgiving holiday. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The new policy was proposed as a temporary measure and was largely prompted by the migrant caravan parked along the the U.S.-Mexico border and concerns that many of these potential refugees — 500 of whom have been labeled as “criminals” — could enter the country illegally. (RELATED: Aid Group Says Migrants Prepared To Jump Across Border En Masse)

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center jointly challenged the policy in a lawsuit that Tigar adjudicated.

Both the DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security thought the action was an attempt to tie the government’s hands.

“And it is absurd that a set of advocacy groups can be found to have standing to sue to stop the entire federal government from acting so that illegal aliens can receive a government benefit to which they are not entitled,” the departments said in a joint statement. “We look forward to continuing to defend the executive branch’s legitimate and well-reasoned exercise of its authority to address the crisis at our southern border.”

Follow David on Twitter