Trump again Crosses the Legal Line of Authority

I have not said or suggested what type of person this type of action would come from today. His actions with foreign people and people of color sys much about what his beliefs are today.

Again, Pres. Trump crosses the legal lines of authority by issuing an edict (memorandum) telling in country foreign citizens they must apply for a Green Card from their original country of residence. Scrolling around the internet, I found:

Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), The law permits eligible individuals to transition to lawful permanent residence without having to return to their home country, though current policies increasingly scrutinize these requests.

Once again, what the law says does not apply to Trump or his explanation of it is outside the bounds of legal determination.

Senior Politics + Society Editor Alfonso Serrano at The Conversation has a brief story on Trump’s Immigration Activities

Immigration attorneys have been fielding a barrage of calls from panicked clients since Friday, after the Trump administration issued a memorandum that seeks to upend decades-long policy: Most foreigners in the country who seek a green card must now leave the U.S. and apply in their home country. The decision, part of the administration’s mounting efforts to target legal pathways to immigration, could affect hundreds of thousands of people.

Such a blunt policy shift would require congressional action, write law scholars Irina Manta and Cassandra Burke Robertson, who study legal aspects of citizenship and immigration. The thousands of people who legally pursue a shift from one immigration status to another cannot have their rights terminated arbitrarily. The real administration goal, they add, may be to discourage immigration rather than realize policy changes.

The dismay immigrants are feeling is not hard to imagine, they write. A green card applicant could now spend months or even years separated from their spouse or children while waiting abroad. And since uncertainty typifies consular processing overseas, including the risk of green card denial and no easy appeals process, thousands of immigrants may be gambling on whether they would be allowed back to the U.S. at all.

Alfonso Serrano Senior Politics + Society Editor

Longer Version: Irina D. Manta and Cassandra Burke Robertson, “How a proposed green card application policy change would disrupt lives by assuming legal immigrants are evading the law.”