Yesterday, a federal judge in California took it upon himself to block Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy.

Raise your hand if you’re sick and tired of judges legislating from the bench.

Yeah, us too.

Not to mention it’s so damn confusing trying to figure out what the heck is going on with the policy and what possible legal reason this judge could have had to block it. Luckily there are far smarter people on Twitter than us, like @molratty, who took the time to write a fact-filled thread about the ruling … that just ticked us off.

But at least now we understand what happened.

Here's a copy of the asylum opinion, if you're interested. It's a fairly arcane statutory interpretation question, that might be too hard to explain here, but I'll try. https://t.co/VsnhQcxJdR — Mo Mo (@molratty) April 9, 2019

The issue is whether Trump's policy of sending people who arrive at the border illegally or without proper documents back to Mexico for the duration of their immigration proceedings is permissible under section 1225 of the Immigration Act. — Mo Mo (@molratty) April 9, 2019

That this is even up for discussion is ridiculous. Why SHOULDN’T we send people who arrive at the border illegally or without proper documents back to Mexico for the duration of their proceedings?

*grumble*

Section 1225 has two categories of immigrants:

1. Ones who arrive in the US without proper documents, or who have committed fraud in connection with

admission; and

2. "Other aliens" — Mo Mo (@molratty) April 9, 2019

The ones who arrive without documents or illegally are given expedited removal proceedings, where they're immediately sent back or, if they state they intend to apply for asylum, are subject to certain expedited procedures. — Mo Mo (@molratty) April 9, 2019

So illegal immigrants go through the system more quickly …

The "other aliens" are sent through normal removal proceedings (which are not expedited), pursuant to Section 1229a. In addition, Congress expressly allows the AG to send these people back to (in this case) Mexico while these proceedings are pending. — Mo Mo (@molratty) April 9, 2019

The problem with Trump's policy is he's using the provision that lets the AG send "other aliens" back to Mexico, even when they don't fall into the "other aliens" category. The statute is pretty clear that people in the first category cannot be in the "other aliens" category. — Mo Mo (@molratty) April 9, 2019

There's a wrinkle, though. Courts have allowed the AG to take people in the first category (undocumented or illegal) and place them in the regular Section 1229a removal proceedings as a matter of discretion. — Mo Mo (@molratty) April 9, 2019

So, the question is whether that means the AG is allowed to effectively designate them as "other aliens" and therefore subject to the provision that allows for removal while the 1229a proceeding is pending. The court basically said the AG isn't allowed to do that. — Mo Mo (@molratty) April 9, 2019

The rather strange result is that people who arrive here without documents or illegally must stay while they get expedited proceedings and people who do not can be sent back while they get slower proceedings. — Mo Mo (@molratty) April 9, 2019

Side note, this has become a huge problem since the influx of asylum seekers has increased drastically over the last several years. DHS now has over 300k pending cases and the backlog for Immigration judges is 700k cases. — Mo Mo (@molratty) April 9, 2019

300k pending cases, backlog for Immigration judges is 700k cases.

Holy crap.

Hey Dems, tell us AGAIN how there’s not crisis here.

This has led to problems with extended detentions and not enough detention facility space. Obama dealt with it via catch and release. Trump has tried to deal with it by sending these people back to Mexico. — Mo Mo (@molratty) April 9, 2019

The most straightforward solution would be for Congress to allow the AG to return to Mexico those who arrive without documents or commit fraud (the people in the first category) while their cases are pending, as the do with "other aliens." — Mo Mo (@molratty) April 9, 2019

Bingo.

That would require a Congress which is not the one we currently have. — Mo Mo (@molratty) April 9, 2019

Which means a Congress willing to do their job.

(If you think the Democrats aren't enjoying putting the screws to Trump like this, I have a bridge for sale.) — Mo Mo (@molratty) April 9, 2019

Of course they are because this has never been about the people crossing the border but instead just another way to ‘put the screws’ to Trump. All while telling us there isn’t a crisis at the border.

Told you, it’s infuriating.

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