AG Barr made a ruling on Monday that will block asylum for migrants claiming they are being persecuted because of their family:
NBC NEWS – A Monday ruling by Attorney General William Barr that limited the ability of migrants to seek asylum in the U.S. is the latest example of the Trump administration’s use of a unique power of the attorney general’s office to reshape immigration law.
Barr used a process called “certification” to issue a decision on Monday that closes the door on most asylum seekers who fear persecution due to family ties, overturning years of precedent.
The case involves a Mexican man who said he was threatened by gangs when his father refused to let them use his store. U.S. law requires asylum seekers to prove they fear persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a “particular social group.” The Board of Immigration Appeals determined that the man’s family constituted a social group.
Barr reversed that finding, writing that a family does not qualify as such a group just because it is being persecuted. His ruling will now lower the number of migrants who are eligible for asylum.
They don’t tell us how many asylum seekers this will affect, but my guess is that it will be significant.
Now you may be wondering just how AG Barr can make such rulings that affect the immigration courts. NBC News explains:
Most federal courts are part of the judicial branch, but immigration courts are part of the executive branch, and are thus controlled by the Justice Department. The attorney general runs the Justice Department. He is both the nation’s top prosecutor and, in the case of immigration courts, its top judge.
Because Barr is the top judge, he can essentially pluck cases from the Board of Immigration Appeals, which is effectively the appellate arm of the immigration courts, for “certification.” After reviewing those cases, he can issue binding rulings.
Past attorneys general have used this power. During President George W. Bush’s eight years in office, 16 such decisions were issued, the most of any administration since the late 1950s. Under Obama, there were four such rulings, and under Clinton there were three.
But the Trump Justice Department is on pace to outstrip any prior administration in rendering these rulings. Its three attorneys general have issued decisions in seven cases in the last two and a half years. Three are pending.
This is another reason why having a good AG is so important and how they can have such a huge impact on asylum claims, all on their own.