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Caravan Migrants Sue Trump Administration for Asylum Hearings

Caravan Migrants Sue Trump Administration for Asylum Hearings

(Bloomberg) -- Six Honduran migrants and their children sued the Trump administration over the president’s plan to use troops to stop a caravan from entering the U.S., claiming the policy of denying central Americans from exercising their lawful right to seek asylum is unconstitutional.

  • They seek to represent all Mexican, Central American and South American migrants looking for asylum in the U.S.

Key Takeaways

  • If successful, the people in the caravan of thousands of migrants, would be entitled to a hearing in the U.S. to determine whether their asylum claims are valid. Trump has vowed not to allow any of the migrants into the U.S. and says he’ll send as many as 15,000 troops to the border to stop them.
  • Lawsuit comes as President Donald Trump vows to house migrants in massive tent cities on U.S.-Mexico border -- a move that likely violates an agreement on detaining immigrant children, according to the complaint.
  • The president has also said he will change rules so as to deny asylum to those who enter illegally.
  • "The legal problem with Trump’s plan to stop caravan persons from entering this country is that plaintiffs are seeking asylum, and Trump simply cannot stop them from legally doing so by using military, or anyone," attorneys for migrants said in the complaint.

Get More

  • More on Trump’s pledge to boost number of troops on U.S.-Mexico border
  • The case is Pineda v. Trump 18-cv-2534, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington)

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Harris in Washington at aharris16@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Joe Schneider

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.