News / Politics

US Supreme Court cancels hearings on border wall, asylum policy

Thursday, 04 February 2021 12:14 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 04 February 2021 12:14 AM ]

On June 23, 2020, then US President Donald Trump tours a section of the border wall in San Luis, Ariz. (Photo by AP)

The US Supreme Court has canceled the upcoming hearing sessions over two controversial policies of former president Donald Trump – border wall and ‘remain in Mexico’ policy.

On Wednesday, the court announced that it has removed two Trump administration appeals of lower court rulings from the argument calendar.

Ending the wall project was among the first executive orders that US President Joe Biden issued in his first day in office.

"It shall be the policy of my administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall," Biden wrote in a proclamation signed Jan. 20.

Biden to cancel 'Muslim ban' on first day in office

US President-elect Joe Biden plans to sign a flurry of executive orders on his first day in the White House, reversing some of President Donald Trump’s immigration actions, including ‘Muslim ban.’

The next day the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also suspended Trump’s “remain in Mexico” policy, which has forced almost 70,000 asylum-seekers to stay in Mexico while their applications are being processed

"The President has directed the Executive Branch to undertake an assessment of 'the legality of the funding and contracting methods used to construct the wall,'" the administration wrote to the court Monday.

"It would therefore be appropriate for the court to hold further proceedings in this case in abeyance to allow for the completion of the process that the president has directed," it added.

Pentagon approves 3.6 billion for wall construction on Mexican border

The US Defense Department says it was freeing up $3.6 billion in funds budgeted for other projects to build a wall on the Mexican border as ordered by President Trump.

Last June, a federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration has illegally diverted $2.5 billion of Pentagon's budget to build more than 100 miles of his border wall.

Trump ordered the use of the Defense Department money after a fight over his budget led to a partial government shutdown. It ended after Democrats approved some money for border wall construction, but considerably less than what the president wanted.

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