SAN DIEGO (AP) — Several asylum seekers who have been forced to wait in Mexico while their cases wind through U.S. immigration court have told a judge they fear returning to Mexico until their next hearings.
The seven cases heard Tuesday in San Diego were among the first asylum seekers subject to a major policy shift that the Trump administration launched in January. Their initial appearances come three days before a federal judge in San Francisco hears arguments by advocacy groups to halt enforcement.
Attorney Robyn Barnard, who represented two Honduran men, asked for access to any interviews their clients may have with U.S. officials about whether their fears of returning to Mexico are well-founded.
An attorney for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement voiced no opposition but deferred to other agencies within the Department of Homeland Security.
