(ProsperNews.net) – A federal judge is asking whether poverty qualifies as a valid reason to grant migrants asylum in the US after it was revealed up to 30,000 people each month are allowed into the US from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Haiti under the current policies from the Biden administration.
The policy is being challenged in federal court by Texas and 20 additional states. It alleges the creation of a “shadow immigration system” that allows all applicants in with very little discrimination.
Judge Drew Tipton noted that most of the world lives in poverty, adding that he had personally witnessed the horrible living conditions in Haiti during a visit there. He asked lawyer Elissa Fudim with the Department of Justice if poverty qualified as an “urgent humanitarian need” to which she replied it “probably” does not. Another attorney defending the policy said that Congress has previously “frowned on” allowing migrants who cited poverty as the primary reason for their relocation to the US.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs argue that the policy is granting applicants access to the US without an individual, case-by-case review as required by law. DOJ and policy advocates claim that some folks are rejected but refuse to indicate what percentage or even how many individuals have been rejected per month.
They additionally claimed that the policy helps reduce the number of illegal border crossings without providing any evidence that was the case. Tipton also asked lawyers for the plaintiffs to prove economic damages if they want to allege them in court after they claimed Texas was spending added millions of taxpayer dollars on public education and health care due to the migrants.
Closing arguments ended on Friday, August 25th and a ruling in the case could come weeks or months down the line. Some states claimed that they have benefitted from a reduction in migrants coming from the countries outlined in the policy, however legally or not these are still people coming into the US.
The program has authorized the entry of 34,000 Nicaraguans, 41,000 Cubans, 63,000 Venezuelans, and 72,000 Haitians from its inception through the end of July.
The program requires folks to apply online, have a US sponsor, and fly into the country. They can stay for up to two years and be permitted to work if approved. Tipton was appointed by Donald Trump and has previously ruled against Biden’s DOJ.
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