WASHINGTON _ The Trump administration policy that sought to block victims of gang and domestic violence from claiming asylum in the U.S. is illegal, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
The ruling by District Judge Emmet Sullivan overturned a major policy change ordered in June by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and has broad implications for thousands of Central American asylum seekers, especially women.
In addition to declaring the policy change illegal, Sullivan ordered the government to return to the United States people who have been deported as a result.
The administration is likely to appeal Sullivan's ruling, but for now it could provide a second chance to asylum seekers whose claims were rejected while the policy was in place.
When Sessions issued the policy in June, he wrote that "generally, claims by aliens pertaining to domestic violence or gang violence perpetrated by nongovernmental actors will not qualify for asylum." People claiming to be fleeing persecution must show that their fears involve the actions of their government, not private individuals, Sessions said.
"The mere fact that a country may have problems effectively policing certain crimes _ such as domestic violence or gang violence _ or that certain populations are more likely to be victims of crime, cannot itself establish an asylum claim," he wrote.
That standard Sessions created was "inconsistent with the intent of Congress" set out in federal immigration law, Sullivan wrote. "And because it is the will of Congress _ not the whims of the Executive _ that determines the standard for expedited removal, the Court finds that those policies are unlawful."
"The Court orders the government to return to the United States the plaintiffs who were unlawfully deported," he continued, "and to provide them with new credible fear determinations consistent with the immigration laws."
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling or on how many people the government could be forced to bring back.
It's been a busy week for Sullivan, who on Tuesday postponed sentencing for Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and publicly excoriated him, saying, "Arguably, you sold your country out!"
