A San Diego federal judge in a pair of decisions Tuesday ruled that asylum seekers who have expressed fear about being returned to Mexico to await their U.S. immigration proceedings must be allowed access to attorneys to argue their cases. The rulings center on a crucial interview process that determines whether such asylum seekers should be part of the Trump administration’s so-called Remain in Mexico program, or whether the likelihood of persecution or torture south of the border means they should remain in the U.S. for the duration of their immigration cases. In November, U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw ordered border authorities to grant the family access to attorneys. In a separate ruling, Sabraw also granted a preliminary injunction that requires the government to allow all class members access to legal representation before and during such interviews. “Given the stakes of a non-refoulement interview — the return to a country in which one may face persecution and torture — and the interview’s fact-intensive nature, it is undeniable that access to counsel is important,” Sabraw wrote in the preliminary injunction.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 15, 2020 20:03 UTC