New Mexico sues Trump administration over asylum practices

The State of New Mexico and the City of Albuquerque are suing the US government aiming to stop border agents from releasing migrants into border communities.

The complaint accused President Trump Administration’s policy of violating the federal government’s Safe Release policy. That’s intended to help people seeking asylum get to their final destination while their claims are processed.

Instead, the lawsuit states migrant families are now being released in New Mexico communities without help and it’s burdening local governments and nonprofits.

The state is asking the court to put the Safe Release policy back in place. The lawsuit also states it wants the government to reimburse the state and the City of Albuquerque for the money it has spent helping asylum seekers.

The irony, of course, is that according to the Center For Immigration Studies the state of New Mexico along with Bernalillo County, New Mexico County Jails and San Miguel have previously declared as sanctuary states.

Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham cited a “derogation of duty” in announcing the lawsuit against acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan and top federal immigration officials, with Albuquerque listed as co-plaintiff.

President Donald Trump, she said in a statement, “is interested only in demonizing the vulnerable people who arrive at our border, stoking unfounded fears about national security while taking no action to substantively and proactively protect immigrants and our southern border communities from human- and drug-trafficking.”

The lawsuit,  the first of its kind by a state, resembles a suit filed by San Diego County in April also challenging the cancellation of the federal immigration program that helped migrants with phone calls and other travel logistics as they pursue final destinations across the U.S.