TUCSON, Ariz.-- The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily halts Trump policy.
It is a decision that could impact tens of thousands of asylum-seekers.
The appeals the controversial ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, officially called ‘Migrant Protection Protocol or MPP.
This policy kept asylum-seekers in Mexico, while claims were processed.
With this new decision, people will now be allowed to wait for those court dates in the United States.
Margo Cowan, a Pima County Public Defender, who runs the 'Keep Tucson Together Pro Bono Clinic' says many of those people are running away from horrific circumstances.
“At ports all along the southern border, there are literally thousands of people that are pooled, waiting to be interviewed,” Cowan told KGUN9.
In fact, as many as 60,000 people are waiting in Mexican border towns for their asylum hearings.
“Many of these people are fleeing horrific circumstances in their countries of origin. We interview families whose families have been slaughtered, children have been raped...and our laws have been created to protect people from such atrocities,” she added.
Cowan says, at this point, it is not clear how the ruling will play out in practice.
“Well I don’t think there’s any dangers that people are going to flood the border, but I do think people are well within their rights to present themselves and declare that they want to pursue an asylum claim in the United States and not be required to remain outside of the county,” Cowan added.
Processing could take a long time though if asylum seekers decide to rush the ports, especially since the administration limits the number of migrants it screens each day.
Those who are admitted to the U.S. could potentially be detained in us facilities while they wait for their immigration court hearings.
Cowan tells KGUN9 she expects the Trump administration and Department of Homeland Security to appeal this ruling. They could ask for an emergency hearing in the U.S. Supreme court.
