ACLU files lawsuit over Biden’s border executive action

The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Biden administration Wednesday over a sweeping executive action that largely shuts off asylum to migrants crossing the US southern border illegally.

The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Biden administration Wednesday over a sweeping executive action that largely shuts off asylum to migrants crossing the US southern border illegally. The executive action – which bars migrants crossing the border illegally from seeking asylum, with some limited exceptions, when an average daily threshold is met – marked President Joe Biden’s most dramatic move on the US-Mexico border. Moments after the measure was announced last week, the ACLU warned it would sue the administration. On Wednesday, the group filed the lawsuit in Washington, DC. The filing argues that the new rules violate US immigration law and the Administrative Procedure Act, which lays out the procedural steps agencies must go through in implementing certain policies. The lawsuit challenges rules restricting asylum for migrants crossing illegally, citing US law that states migrants can apply “whether or not” they enter at a designated port of entry; the requirement to claim fear, instead of being asked by authorities; the heightened screening standard; and reducing time for attorney consultation. The complaint doesn’t seek emergency relief at this point. The plaintiffs are two Texas-based organizations that work with immigrants: Las Americas and RAICES.