A dozen migrants traveling by foot from Honduras to the U.S. to seek asylum filed a class-action lawsuit Thursday against President Trump, the Department of Homeland Security and others, claiming a violation of their due process under the Fifth Amendment.
The Fifth Amendment states that, “no person… shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
A recent PBS report cited former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who ruled in 1993 case that “it is well established that the Fifth Amendment entitles aliens to due process of law in a deportation proceeding.”
Twelve Honduran nationals, including six children, are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The suit, which was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., said it is widely known that Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador are “undergoing a well-documented human rights crisis.” The lawsuit also claims that the plaintiffs’ right to the Administrative Procedures Act and the Declaratory Judgement Act were being infringed upon.
The Central American migrant caravan now numbers approximately 4,000 people, down from a high of 7,200.
The lawsuit points to Trump’s claim that he will prevent the caravan from entering the U.S. It claims that the president cannot stop asylum-seekers by employing the military — when they have a fair claim. The suit criticized the president’s alleged attempt at stoking “fear and hysteria” by claiming that criminals and gang members have joined the caravan.
The suit cited a Trump interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, where the president laid out plans to build tent cities to house migrants. The suit questioned the functionality of such a project, and asked if these living quarters would qualify under the Flores Agreement of 1997. The agreement protects asylum-seekers’ rights and limits how long minors can be held.
Earlier this summer, a federal judge in California rejected a request by the administration to modify Flores to allow for longer family detention. Administration officials say they have the authority to terminate the agreement, but that is likely to be tested in court.
The White House, Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security — which were all named as defendants — did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
Trump announced in a lengthy speech at the White House on Thursday afternoon that in response to what he called the “crisis at our southern border” and a surge of fraudulent asylum claims in recent years, his administration will soon require asylum-seekers to “lawfully present themselves” at a port of entry.
Asylum claims made by migrants caught crossing the border illegally would seemingly be summarily denied under Trump’s proposal.
The asylum clause of the Immigration and Nationality Act says that anyone who arrives to the U.S. may apply for asylum based on a well-founded fear of persecution, and Trump’s decision was expected to prompt immediate federal court challenges.
Nexus Services Inc. is funding the lawsuits through a civil rights law firm called Nexus Derechos Humanos (Human Rights) Attorneys Inc.
“Federal law enables migrants to apply for asylum in the United States. President Trump and his administration have used ‘increased enforcement,’ like separating families and lengthening detention to violate migrant rights,” Mike Donovan, president of Nexus Services, said in the release.
There is another legal issue at stake, according to the lawsuit. The U.S. cannot send troops into Mexico to cut off the caravan from crossing the border, it said. Even with the National Guard at the border, once an immigrant indicates an intention to apply for asylum, the suit maintained the process has begun.
Immigrants who are seeking asylum must be referred for a “credible fear interview,” for which an asylum officer would determine if the immigrant has a “credible fear of persecution,” the lawsuit said. If the officer makes that determination, then there is a significant chance for the asylum-seeker to be granted asylum, according to the suit.
should get balled up and thrown in the trash
they are not US Nationals , therefore do not have a Right to our Constitution or BoR
Asylum is the responsibility of the neighboring country ,,USA is not neighbors with Honduras , Guatemala etc
Again people < i'd like to see the Bill Board ( dam sure wish I had the money)
No Borders , No Nations
No Nations ..NO TAXES
if our laws are not upheld in this ..we should all pull out and let the IRS and this government feel our pain by no longer supporting it
I've paid Taxes for over 42 years ..I want my dam money back ..I didn't pay for all these free loaders to come in and reap the benefits of my hard work and the pilfering of my labor
I think we should all be filing suit , because We the People actually have a legit beef in this shit
POST ATTEMPT #9///the supreme court cannot rule over a right. i bet its hot where ole “judge” scalla is…………AND WE HAVE SOME REAL LEGAL GENIUS COMING TO HELP US WITH OUR LAW!! NOW DON’T WE…….
I guess I can sue (insert any country) in a US Court for abusing my rights even though I have never been to said country of choice
Remember when the Jews that fled Nazi Germany that were waving Nazi flags in their new home countries?
No? I don’t remember that either.
I think I’m going to get sued by the criminals for locking my tuck!
WOW! Tried to send link to my wife through a messenger. said it was disallowed as abusive content!!!
Locked it up so I couldn’t screen shot for proof too.
Just wow! Censorship is stepping into messaging??? Really???
QUIT SENDING DIRTY MESSAGES TO YER WIFE!!!!
LMAO!!!
LOL!!!! I was shocked. Never expected messenger to be sensoring.
The “wall” should be built with the bodies of these foreign invaders. Nothing like a good pile of rotting carcasses with buzzards plucking out eyeballs and other body parts to serve as a good deterrent. When you seek to enter any country illegally, you are not seeking asylum, you are invading and should be treated as such. An excellent point was made in the above comment, these migrants could easily have gone to neighboring countries, but they are invading America, the only country that rewards foreign invaders while impoverishing its own people. If the enemy force in occupation taxing you to reward these criminals doesn’t make your blood boil in rage (not that any other taxation is legal), then chances are you are an enemy to American Nationals and deserve to die along with the foreign invaders that you support.
Skulls on fence posts are very demoralizing
effective if they have 2 brain cells to rub together
Umm….first of all, YOU HAVE TO BE A LEGAL CITIZEN OF THAT COUNTRY IN ORDER TO HAVE RIGHTS IN THAT COUNTRY, YOU DUMBASSES!!!
What a bunch retards!
Are we really living in a backwards, twilight zone? I feel like I’m living in a mental asylum. It’s the only reason why people are even talking about such nonsense. The whole world has gone CUCKOO!!!!
THEY ARE COMING AS YOUR NEW LAWYERS…….. FOR A BEETTER LIIIIIFFFEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
Just don’t sue my mountain lion friends… Or Else!
They’re suing Trump? Where, in Beaner Court?
LMAO!! I have to remember that one