United States District Judge Emmet Sullivan had to reluctantly grant the Biden administration a five-week delay to end extensive asylum restrictions. According to the federal judge, the administration was not contesting his decision as they were only asking for time to prepare. Meanwhile, the attorneys representing the families requesting refuge had no objections to the postponement. As of December 21st, the Trump administration’s policy depriving migrants of their legal right to apply for asylum on the basis of public health concerns related to the infection of Covid-19 will come to an end.
Although Judge Emmet Sullivan wanted to grant the end of the asylum restrictions effective immediately, the Justice Department requested that the injunction go into effect on December 21st so that they would have several extra weeks to prepare. The American Civil Liberties Union and other plaintiffs did not object to the postponement. Government lawyers argued that this transition time is crucial to ensuring that the Department of Homeland Security can continue to carry out its mandate to safeguard the nation’s borders and to conduct its border operations in an orderly manner.
