Trump moves to end border asylum
As soon as today, new rule would halt most protections
Washington — Reversing decades of U.S. policy, the Trump administration said Monday it will end all asylum protections for most migrants who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border — the president’s most forceful attempt yet to block asylum claims and slash the number of people seeking refuge in America.
The new rule, expected to go into effect today, would cover countless would-be refugees, many of them fleeing violence and poverty in Central America. It is certain to face legal challenges.
According to the plan published in the Federal Register, migrants who pass through another country — in this case, Mexico — on their way to
New York — Two Jeffrey Epstein accusers urged a judge Monday to keep the wealthy financier behind bars until he goes on trial on federal charges that he sexually abused underage girls.
The women stood just feet from where Epstein was seated in his blue jail outfit as they asked a federal judge to reject a request by Epstein’s lawyers that he remain under house arrest in his $77 million Manhattan mansion until trial on conspiracy and sex trafficking charges.
Courtney Wild, an unnamed victim in the 2008 lawsuit against the Department of Justice for the secret plea deal that allowed Epstein to avoid similar charges, spoke for the first time in court with a fellow accuser.
Wild said she was sexually abused by Epstein in Palm Beach, Fla., when she was 14. “He’s a scary person,” she said. Annie Farmer said she was 16 when she met Epstein in New York.
“He was inappropriate with me,” she said, not elaborating.
The Associated Press doesn’t name alleged victims of sexual abuse without their consent. Through their lawyers, both Farmer and Wild said they were willing to be publicly identified.
Judge Richard M. Berman said he’ll rule Thursday whether Epstein can be freed with a strict bail package, but he noted at the outset of two-hour hearing there was a presumption in cases involving sexual abuse of children that a defendant will remain locked up.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Rossmiller said the government’s case is “getting stronger every single day” since Epstein was arrested July 6 as he arrived at a New Jersey airport from Paris on his private plane.
During a raid at Epstein’s Manhattan mansion following his arrest, Rossmiller said, investigators found “piles of cash,” ‘‘dozens of diamonds” and an expired passport with Epstein’s picture and a fake name in a locked safe.
“How many safes are there in so many other locations like these?” Rossmiller asked.