[A]ttorney General TJ Donovan joined a multi-state coalition in support of a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenging President Donald Trump’s order imposing severe restrictions on asylum seekers.
The ACLU suit, filed in federal court in San Francisco in November, challenges the efforts by Trump’s administration to bar people who enter the country by illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border from seeking asylum.
Donovan and 12 other attorneys general filed an amicus brief in support of the ACLU suit, urging the court to suspend the federal government’s “Final Interim Rule”— which bars people who enter the United States. between ports of entry from applying for asylum.
In a statement, Donovan said the United States has long been and should remain a place where people who are fleeing dangerous and unstable countries are welcome.
“People seeking asylum here are entitled to the opportunity to ask for help. The Final Interim Rule is contrary to law,” Donovan said.
In the amicus brief, the attorneys general argue this rule is contrary to long-standing federal statutes, passed by Congress, which recognize the importance of allowing people to apply for asylum regardless of how they arrived in the country.
The attorneys general argue that the Trump administration policy makes it difficult for asylum-seekers to present their claims, and that it violates the law by creating inhumane conditions at the border, forcing families to live without access to basic health services, education and food as they wait at official entry points.
Ella Spottswood, Vermont deputy solicitor general, said the attorney general’s office decided to join the coalition of states in support of the ACLU in a show of solidarity for the rule of law.
“The law that Congress passed was that any person who comes into this country can request asylum,” Spottswood said. “We’re saying this is the law of the land and you can’t just get rid of something that Congress ruled into law.”
Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said he fully supports the ACLU lawsuit and is glad Donovan is supporting it as well.
Welch said that when he traveled to the southern border in June, he observed how the Trump administration was effectively stopping people from requesting asylum.
“I see the suit as a challenge to a Trump administration practice to make sure that requests aren’t made and they are doing it by closing off the legal ports of entry,” Welch said. “It’s a question of values for the entire country.”
Donovan joins the group comprising attorneys generals from California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia.
The state attorneys general say that one of the reasons they are forming a multi-state coalition is that many of the people seeking asylum have relatives across the country, including in the states that have joined in support, according to the document. Seven of the top ten states for residence of people who have been granted asylum, have joined the multi-state coalition.
Donovan’s office said it had no data on whether there are people living in Vermont who have relatives seeking asylum at the southern border.
James Duff Lyall, executive director at ACLU-VT, thanked Donovan for his support of the ACLU lawsuit and said welcoming people who are seeking refuge from persecution is part of the history of the United States.
“This lawsuit concerns a proposed rule that is effectively a ban on asylum,” Lyall said, “The ACLU welcomes the support as we continue to hold the line against President Trump’s immigration policy.”
“We stand at a crossroads in this country and we are pleased the attorney general is on the right side of history,” Lyall said. “It’s clear there is much more that needs to be done to protect immigrants in this state and this country.”
Over 6,000 Central American immigrants, including over 1,000 children, are currently waiting outside California ports of entry for an opportunity to present their asylum claims to federal immigration officials, according to the amicus brief.
On Friday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the federal government’s request to reinstate the use of the final interim rule in the ongoing litigation between the Trump administration and the ACLU. The ruling blocks the Trump administration from immediately putting the new asylum ban into place.
