Category: usa

A federal judge in California on Monday reinstated a ban on the implementation of a Trump administration policy that would restrict migrants’ ability to apply for asylum at the southern border.

U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar had issued a nationwide injunction in July blocking the rule, which would make most asylum-seekers who pass through another country before reaching the U.S. ineligible for asylum, with exceptions for victims of trafficking and migrants who have been denied asylum in the countries they traveled through.

The rule would primarily effect Central American migrants crossing through Mexico.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Tigar’s initial ruling but narrowed the injunction to only border states within its jurisdiction — California and Arizona — before sending the question back to Tigar.

Tigar said Monday that the injunction should apply nationwide because the asylum rule represents a case where “such breadth is necessary to remedy a plaintiff’s harm.”

The Trump administration last month asked the Supreme Court to lift Tigar’s injunction.

“The injunction now in effect is deeply flawed and should be stayed pending appeal and pending any further proceedings in this Court,” Solicitor General Noel Francisco said in a filing.

The White House blasted the judge’s decision in a statement.

“Immigration and border security policy cannot be run by any single district court judge who decides to issue a nationwide injunction,” the White House said. “This ruling is a gift to human smugglers and traffickers and undermines the rule of law. We previously asked the Supreme Court to set aside the district court’s injunction in its entirety, our request remains pending with the Court, and we look forward to it acting on our request.”

Acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan said Monday that he was “frustrated” by the ruling and described it as a result of “unprecedented judicial activism.”

“It’s very very frustrating but we’re going to keep going. We’ll continue to work within the current legal framework address this,” Morgan told reporters at the White House.

Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka Karu Jayasuriya led a multiparty parliamentary delegation to the U.S. capital from September 25-29.

The delegation included Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva, Minister of Women and Child Affairs Chandrani Bandara, State Minister of Irrigation & Water Resources Management Palitha Range Bandara, Members of Parliament Vijitha Herath, Kumara Welgama and M.A. Sumanthiran, and Deputy Secretary General of Parliament Neil Iddawala.

During the visit, Speaker Jayasuriya and the delegation met with the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan at the U.S. Capitol. They also had fruitful discussions with several members of congress from both the republican and democratic parties, including Senator Chris Van Hollen, who was the former democratic co-chair of the House Congressional Caucus on Sri Lanka until his election to the Senate at the beginning of this year. Senator Van Hollen is a longtime friend of Sri Lanka. The delegation also met the present co-chairs of the Sri Lanka Caucus, Representatives Robert Aderholt and Dina Titus; Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific Rep. Ted Yoho; and Ranking Member of the subcommittee Rep. Brad Sherman.

Following up on the congressional visit to Sri Lanka by the House Democracy Partnership (HDP) of the U.S. House of Representatives in February, the delegation met with its Chairman Rep. Peter Roskam, Ranking Member Rep. David Price, and HDP members Rep. Gerald Connolly and Rep. Gwen Moore. During the previous visit of Speaker Jayasuriya to Washington D.C. a year ago the Sri Lanka Parliament and the HDP signed a collaboration agreement to strengthen partnership between the two legislatures.

The delegation briefed the members of congress on developments in Sri Lanka, particularly in relation to constitutional reforms. The Parliament of Sri Lanka is marking 70 years of parliamentary democracy this year. They emphasized on the value of strengthening cooperation between the Sri Lanka Parliament and the U.S. Congress to underpin the expanding bilateral partnership. The Speaker invited the members of congress to visit Sri Lanka and see first hand the developments on the ground.

The members of congress commended the progress made by the Sri Lankan government since 2015 in advancing political and economic reforms, taking concrete measures to advance human rights, good governance and reconciliation. They acknowledged the importance of enhancing and expanding the U.S. – Sri Lanka partnership in diverse spheres, including at the legislative level, and assured the support of the U.S. Congress towards this end.

The visit to Washington D.C. took place as part of the USAID-sponsored programme – Strengthening Democratic Governance and Accountability Project in Sri Lanka (SDGAP). SDGAP is a three-year programme with the Sri Lankan Parliament to strengthen public accountability systems; improve planning, communication, policy reform, and implementation; and increase the participation of women in politics. The visit to the U.S. Congress allowed the parliamentary delegation to experience firsthand the workings of the U.S. system.

“Though I wind up as Ambassador to the USA, I want to say that I will forever remain an Ambassador for ‘U.S.-Sri Lanka relations.’ I believe there is so much that our two countries, though geographically distant, can achieve for mutual benefit”, Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam said addressing a distinguished gathering at a farewell reception hosted by the U.S. State Department this morning.

The State Department hosted the reception for a select group of well wishers of Sri Lanka, including U.S. government representatives, Washington-based foreign diplomats, and representatives from business establishments, civil society and non-governmental organizations, in honour of the Sri Lankan Ambassador who leaves the U.S. capital later this week to take up a new assignment as the Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Welcoming the Ambassador, Assistant Chief of Protocol Gladys Boluda recalled the Ambassador’s close association with the State Department in the past three years and remarked that the turnout at the reception was a statement to his accessibility to his peers and interlocutors at all times. Echoing a long-held view in the State Department that governments send their best to serve in Washington D.C., she said this was certainly justified in the case of Ambassador Kariyawasam, whose next assignment in Colombo further strengthened this claim.

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Ambassador Thomas Shannon observed that Ambassador Kariyawasam was witness to two transitions in administration during his tenure – one in Sri Lanka in 2015, the other in the U.S. in 2017 – and was able to navigate both skillfully for the benefit of both countries. He hailed the upward trajectory in bilateral relations and recalled the inaugural U.S. – Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue in 2016 in which he and the Ambassador played a leading role to set up a structured framework for bilateral cooperation. Under Secretary Shannon pointed to Sri Lanka’s significance as a key player in the U.S. Indian Ocean policy and alluded to the immense potential for expanding the bilateral partnership.

Ambassador Kariyawasam recalled the historic government transition in Sri Lanka in 2015 which engendered a path-breaking revival in Sri Lanka’s bilateral relations with the United States, and the landmark achievements in the partnership since, including, among others, Sri Lanka’s selection for development programs by the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the many high level bilateral visits and the renewal of military cooperation. This trend continues in spirit and in substance under the current U.S. administration, he said, observing that, like all relationships, constant care and nurturing would be required to sustain the partnership and guide it to greater heights.