Attorney General Barr orders immigration judges to deny bail for migrants seeking asylum


On Tuesday, Attorney General William Barr ordered immigration judges to stop allowing bail for asylum seekers who have already established "a credible fear of persecution or torture" in their home country, a policy reversal that could lead thousands of immigrants to be detained for months or years until their cases are heard. "Basically if you pass the initial asylum screening you can now be indefinitely detained," immigration attorney Eileen Blessinger explained to CNN. Under the new policy, asylum seekers could only be released from detention if the Department of Homeland Security grants parole, an authority it uses sparingly.
The ruling won't take effect for 90 days, and the ACLU and other groups have already promised legal challenges. Barr, as attorney general, oversees immigration courts, which are part of the Justice Department, not the judicial branch. But "our Constitution does not allow the government to lock up asylum seekers without basic due process," said the ACLU's Omar Jadwat. "We'll see the administration in court."
On CNN Tuesday night, Chris Cuomo agreed that Barr and President Trump are "going to have constitutional problems with this" order, including habeas corpus and due-process issues. But he painted it as a political, not legal, decision, and explained why it's mostly smoke and mirrors to look tough on immigration.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Don't "be faked out by this move," Cuomo advised. "They're letting people go not out of any sense of compassion or humanity, they're doing it because they have to. And you can tell the judges whatever they want, they don't have any place to keep them. So this is a little bit of a distraction to show harshness when they don't have any solution to the real problem, which is accommodating the flow. He's got nothing for that."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Christian extremism: Taking 'holy war' literally
Feature A self-proclaimed minister shot two lawmakers and kept a 'kill list' targeting Democratic officials and abortion providers
-
Iran: Is regime change possible?
Feature The U.S.-Israeli attack exposed cracks in Iran's regime
-
What to know about private equity in your 401(k)
the explainer BlackRock is making private investments available in employer-sponsored retirement plans
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage