US to change migration rules in a bid to send asylum seekers elsewhere

WASHINGTON - The Trump administration is set to harden the rules this week on those allowed to seek asylum in the United States, as it attempts to stem a wave of migration on its southern border with Mexico.

In a fast-track regulation set to publish in the Federal Register on Tuesday, the administration has created a framework that will allow asylum seekers to be sent to other nations that have negotiated bilateral agreements to accept them.

Previously, officials in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump have argued that migrants with a valid need for asylum should seek protection in the first 'safe' country where they have the chance to apply, since many migrants travel through multiple countries on their way to the U.S. border.

However, the new regulation states that asylum seekers may be sent to any other countries with which the United States has asylum agreements that permit such an action - even if they did not first transit through those nations.

The regulation is the latest action by Trump to restrict asylum access in the United States. Trump has made immigration - and curbing the number of mostly Central American migrants arriving at the border - a major theme in his reelection campaign.

The United States already maintains a bilateral asylum deal with Canada. Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras have also signed such deals in recent months, but the pacts have not been finalized.

The regulation released on Monday will amend U.S. guidelines to permit similar deals with other nations.

Other Trump measures have sought to restrict asylum eligibility or force migrants to wait in Mexico pending the resolution of their claims, but not force asylum seekers to pursue their claims in another country.

Migrants who may be sent to a third country under the new regulation will have an opportunity to prove that they're "more likely than not" to be persecuted or tortured in that country, but advocates argue that will be a high hurdle.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy counsel at the pro-migrant American Immigration Council, said the regulation could reshape the U.S. asylum system.

"If this rule fully goes into effect, virtually no one who arrived at the southern border would ever be allowed to ask for asylum in the United States," he said.

A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said on Saturday that implementation of the asylum agreement with Guatemala would occur soon, but did not provide a specific timeline. The department did not respond to requests for comment on Monday.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

US judge blocks Trump asylum restrictions

SAN FRANCISCO- A US judge on Monday temporarily blocked an order by President Donald Trump that barred asylum for immigrants who enter the country illegally from Mexico, the latest courtroom defeat for Trump on immigration policy.

US District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco issued a temporary restraining order against the asylum rules. 

Tigar's order takes effect immediately, applies nationwide, and lasts until at least Dec. 19 when the judge scheduled a hearing to consider a more long-lasting injunction.

Representatives for the US Department of Justice could not immediately be reached for comment.

Trump cited an overwhelmed immigration system for his recent proclamation that officials will only process asylum claims for migrants who present themselves at an official entry point. Civil rights groups sued, arguing that Trump's Nov. 9 order violated administrative and immigration law.

In his ruling, Tigar said Congress clearly mandated that immigrants can apply for asylum regardless of how they entered the country. The judge called the latest rules an "extreme departure" from prior practice.

"Whatever the scope of the President's authority, he may not rewrite the immigration laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressly forbidden," Tigar wrote.

Tigar was nominated to the court by President Barack Obama.

Previous Trump immigration policies, including measures targeting sanctuary cities, have also been blocked by the courts.

The asylum ruling came as thousands of Central Americans, including a large number of children, are traveling in caravans toward the US border to escape violence and poverty at home. Some have already arrived at Tijuana, a Mexican city on the border with California.

"IT IS TOO MUCH"

Rights groups have said immigrants are being forced to wait days or weeks at the border before they can present themselves for asylum, and the administration has been sued for deliberately slowing processing times at official ports.

At a hearing earlier on Monday, American Civil Liberties Union attorney Lee Gelernt said the order clearly conflicted with the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows any person present in the United States to seek asylum, regardless of how they entered the country.

Gelernt said the ACLU had recently learned Mexican authorities have begun barring unaccompanied minors from applying at US ports of entry.

Mexico's migration institute said in a statement to Reuters that there was "no basis" for the ACLU's claims, noting that there had been no such reports from the United Nations or human rights groups that are monitoring the situation at the border.

Uriel Gonzalez, the head of a YMCA shelter for young migrants in Tijuana, said he had not heard of any new measures directed at unaccompanied minors. He noted there were already long lines to get a turn with US authorities.

"This can take a while because the number of migrants has overwhelmed capacity. It is too much," he said.

The judge on Monday wrote that Trump's refugee rule would force people with legitimate asylum claims "to choose between violence at the border, violence at home, or giving up a pathway to refugee status."

Caravan participants began to arrive last week in Tijuana on the Mexican side of the US border, which has put a strain on shelters where many will wait to seek asylum. Their presence has also strained Tijuana's reputation as a welcoming city, with some residents screaming at the migrants, "Get out!"

Trump sent more than 5,000 soldiers to the 2,000-mile (3,100 km) frontier with Mexico to harden the border, although critics dismissed the move as a political stunt ahead of congressional elections on Nov. 6.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Asylum-seeker arrested over truck attack on Berlin Christmas market

* Police believe truck driven deliberately into crowd

* Suspect arrested, denies involvement

* Confusion over whether actual perpetrator still on loose

* Calls for harder line on immigration

* Merkel says Germans mustn't be paralyzed by fear

BERLIN - A man arrested on suspicion of killing 12 people by plowing a truck into a crowded Berlin Christmas market was an asylum-seeker, the government said on Tuesday, as politicians in Germany and beyond demanded a crackdown on immigration.

The truck smashed into wooden huts serving mulled wine and sausages at the foot of the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church, one of west Berlin's most famous landmarks, on Monday evening. Forty-eight people were injured, 18 severely.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the arrested man, who denied involvement, was probably from Pakistan and was in the process of applying for asylum. A security source said he was 23 years old, was known to police for committing minor offenses, and had been staying at a refugee center in the now defunct Tempelhof airport.

Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters: "There is much we still do not know with sufficient certainty but we must, as things stand now, assume it was a terrorist attack."

She added: "I know it would be especially hard for us all to bear if it were confirmed that the person who committed this act was someone who sought protection and asylum."

In a surprise development, Die Welt newspaper later quoted security sources as saying the arrested man was not believed to be the perpetrator.

"We have the wrong man," a police chief told the paper. "And therefore a new situation. The true perpetrator is still armed, at large and can cause fresh damage."

Berlin's police chief said it was not clear if the arrested man was the driver. Police said on Twitter: "The temporarily arrested suspect denies the offense. Therefore we are particularly alert. Please be also alert."

"STATE OF WAR"

The attack fueled immediate demands for a change to Merkel's immigration policies, under which more than a million people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere have arrived in Germany this year and last.

"We must say that we are in a state of war, although some people, who always only want to see good, do not want to see this," said Klaus Bouillon, interior minister of the state of Saarland and a member of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU).

Horst Seehofer, leader of the CDU's Bavarian sister party, said: "We owe it to the victims, to those affected and to the whole population to rethink our immigration and security policy and to change it."

The record influx has hit Merkel's ratings as she prepares to run for a fourth term next year, and boosted support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD). Senior AfD member Marcus Pretzell blamed Merkel for the attack on Twitter.

AfD leader Frauke Petry said Germany was no longer safe and "radical Islamic terrorism has struck in the heart of Germany".

Newspaper Die Welt said the man behind the wheel had jumped out of the driver's cab and run down the street towards the Tiergarten, a vast park in central Berlin. It said several witnesses phoned police to inform them, including one who chased the suspect while on the phone, constantly updating officials on his whereabouts.

The incident evoked memories of an attack in Nice, France in July when a Tunisian-born man drove a 19-tonne truck along the beach front, mowing down people who had gathered to watch the fireworks on Bastille Day, killing 86 people. That was claimed by Islamic State.

EUROPE DIVIDED
The mass influx of migrants and refugees to the European Union has deeply divided its 28 members and fueled the rise of populist anti-immigration movements that hope to capitalize on public concerns next year in elections in France, Germany and the Netherlands.

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico said the latest attack would change perceptions of migration. "I think that the cup of patience is beginning to spill over and Europe's public will rightfully expect rather stronger measures," he said.

Nigel Farage of Britain's UK Independence Party tweeted: "Terrible news from Berlin but no surprise. Events like these will be the Merkel legacy."

On Tuesday morning, investigators removed the black truck from the site for forensic examination. People left flowers at the scene and notes, one of which read: "Keep on living, Berliners!" One woman was crying as she stopped by the flowers.

Berlin police are investigating leads that the truck had been stolen from a construction site in Poland. Authorities said a Polish man was found shot dead inside the vehicle, but minister de Maiziere said no gun had yet been found.

Bild newspaper cited security sources as saying the suspect was named Naved B. and had arrived in Germany a year ago. In legal cases German officials routinely withhold the full name of suspects, using only an initial.

Local broadcaster rbb cited security sources as saying the man came to Germany via Passau, a city on the Austrian border, on Dec. 31, 2015.

Die Welt said police special forces stormed a hangar at Berlin's defunct Tempelhof airport at around 4 a.m. (0300 GMT). It said, without citing its sources, that the arrested man was registered there.

A refugee there who gave his name only as Ahmed told Reuters security guards had told him there was a raid at around 4 a.m.

Prosecutors declined to immediately comment on the report.

"FEAR OF EVIL"
Merkel and de Maiziere both stressed the need for Germans to remain uncowed by the attack.

"We do not want to live paralyzed by the fear of evil," said the chancellor, who discussed the attack by phone with US President Barack Obama and convened a meeting of her security cabinet.

"Even if it is difficult in these hours, we will find the strength for the life we want to live in Germany - free, together and open."

Other European countries said they were reviewing security.

Austrian Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka said he had told the heads of regional police forces to intensify surveillance measures. He called for biometric and fingerprint checks to be introduced along the Balkan route traveled by many migrants arriving in Europe, in order to better control foreign jihadist fighters' movements.

London police said they were reviewing their plans for protecting public events over the festive period.

Flags will be hung at half-mast around Germany on Tuesday and Berlin Christmas markets were closed for the day out of respect. The German soccer league announced a minute's silence at all matches on Tuesday and Wednesday, at which players will wear black ribbons.

Dresden tourist information service said authorities had erected concrete blocks around the Striezelmarkt, one of Germany's oldest Christmas markets, to increase security.

Festive markets selling ornate, often hand-crafted decorations, seasonal foods and hot spiced wine are a beloved tradition in Germany.

Manfred Weber, head of the center-right European People's Party, said: "It's not an attack on a country; it's an attack on our way of life, on the free society in which we are allowed to live." - With reporting by Caroline Copley, Joseph Nasr, Emma Thomasson and Paul Carrel in Berlin; additional reporting by Shadia Nasralla in Vienna

source: news.abs-cbn.com