"Today, a court has, once again, overridden and undermined United States immigration law. Under the law, asylum is a discretionary benefit for aliens who have a well-founded fear of persecution on account of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. Today’s ruling will further overwhelm our immigration courts with meritless cases, making the existing massive backlog even worse," the White House said in a statement.
According to the White House, the decision will push more migrants to illegally cross into the United States to the benefit of "ruthless smuggling organizations."
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The statement comes after US District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington decided on 19 December to repeal the restrictions on granting asylum to victims of gang and domestic violence imposed by US President Donald Trump. In his ruling, the judge, in particular, said that the regulations were contrary to law.
In June, then-US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that domestic abuse or gang violence were not objective reasons for granting asylum.
