WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says asylum seekers must go to ports of entry in order to make a claim. He says he will issue an executive order next week on immigration.
In a lengthy speech Thursday, Trump said migrants are abusing the asylum system and making a “mockery” of immigration laws.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, migrants claiming asylum are allowed to do so at the border crossings, but also if they cross illegally.
Trump reiterated that he wanted to set up “tent cities” to hold people coming to the U.S., including those seeking asylum. But there currently is not enough detention space to hold families who are coming across the border. The military is working to create space, but nothing has been finalized. And laws prevent children from being detained beyond 20 days.
The president says he told the U.S. military mobilizing at the Southwest border that if migrants try to throw rocks at them, the troops should act as though the rocks are “rifles.”
U.S. immigration laws say migrants seeking asylum can do so no matter how they arrive at the U.S.
Several caravans of migrants from Central America are slowly winding north. One group got into a violent confrontation with Mexican police at the border with Guatemala, throwing rocks.
(Copyright 2018, The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
