"Government lawyers on Tuesday asked that at least half a dozen asylum-seekers who appeared in San Francisco immigration court be removed from the United States and sent to Honduras. This is despite the fact that none of those asylum-seekers were actually from there. The maneuver by lawyers representing the Department of Homeland Security appears to be the latest attempt by the Trump administration to make it more difficult for immigrants to get their asylum cases heard. The judges hearing the Tuesday cases denied all of the motions, but left the door open for DHS lawyers to put them forward in the future."
"In both courtrooms, a lawyer representing the Department of Homeland Security put forward motions to "pretermit" people's asylum cases. This would essentially end their asylum case in San Francisco, Judge Jeremiah Johnson explained to the asylum-seekers in his court, and have them removed to Honduras. Asylum-seekers would then ostensibly pursue seeking asylum in Honduras, according to an Oct. 31 decision from the Board of Immigration Appeals, which handles appeals from United States immigration courts."
At least half a dozen asylum-seekers appearing in San Francisco immigration court were targeted by government lawyers for removal to Honduras even though none were from Honduras. The filings reflect a Department of Homeland Security tactic tied to broader administration efforts to limit asylum access. Judges denied the motions on Tuesday but left open the possibility of future filings. Milli Atkinson, who leads immigrant legal defense at the San Francisco Bar Association, first noticed the change on Nov. 13. Motions to "pretermit" cases would end asylum proceedings in San Francisco and remove migrants to Honduras under an Oct. 31 Board of Immigration Appeals decision.
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