Pause in asylum application process draws criticism in Westchester County
The pause in the asylum application process is drawing criticism in Westchester County.
The pause was announced after last week's fatal shooting of West Virginia National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom just blocks from the White House. An asylum seeker from Afghanistan has been charged. He came to the U.S. after serving in an Afghan army unit that helped the U.S. hunt down Taliban commanders.
The Trump administration says the pause is indefinite while asylum seekers from all nations are "vetted and screened to the maximum degree."
"The threat in our interior remains real and urgent. These public safety threats are already inside our land, and President Trump was elected on a promise to find and remove them," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Pause is an "overreaction," lawmaker says
On Monday in White Plains, Rep. George Latimer had harsh words for the pause to all asylum seeker applications.
"The overreaction is an example of something that's deep seated in the president, the administration -- the willingness to blame classes of people for the actions of one or two individuals," Latimer said.
"It gives them a sense of fear"
For the millions of asylum seekers, the pause is another delay in an already lengthy process. Bertha Rodriguez is an immigration attorney with the Community Resource Center in Mamaroneck.
"For the clients that we serve in our community, it gives them a sense of fear, because now they don't know what's going to happen and they're remaining in a legal limbo," Rodriguez said.
She is urging asylum seekers to continue with the process and attend all meetings and court proceedings. Every change the president has made to immigration has been challenged in court, and this pause is likely to be as well.