Trump: U.S. Will Only Allow Asylum-Seekers At Points Of Entry
WASHINGTON (CBS SF) -- President Trump announced Thursday his administration is finalizing a plan to only allow asylum-seekers to apply at designated points of entry along the southwest border. Currently, those who don't go to an official checkpoint are still afforded a chance to wait for trial and make their case.
The president also said he considers any rocks thrown at military members at the border to be like "rifles," and they will be treated as such. The president also didn't rule out the possibility of family separations.
ALSO READ: Trump Features Sacramento Cop Killer In Racially-Charged Campaign Ad
Trump made the comments Thursday in a speech on immigration. He promised an executive order sometime next week that would ban migrants from claiming asylum if they cross the border illegally, and would set up vast tent cities that would hold anyone coming over the border.
U.S. immigration laws say migrants seeking asylum can do so no matter how they arrive at the U.S.
Several caravans of migrants from Central America are slowly winding north. One group got into a violent confrontation with Mexican police at the border with Guatemala, throwing rocks.
In the days leading up to Tuesday's midterms, and as a caravan of migrants approaches the southern border, the president has ramped up his immigration rhetoric. Mr. Trump on Wednesday said he will send up to 15,000 troops to the border, he has threatened to end aid to some Central American countries, and in an interview that Axios aired Tuesday, he said he intends to end birthright citizenship by executive order.
"Birthright citizenship is a very very important subject," the president said Wednesday, as he was leaving for Florida. "In my opinion it's much less complex than people think. I think it says it very loud and clear in the Constitution that you don't have to go through the process of whatever they're talking about."
"And by the way this is not a constitutional amendment -- you do not need a constitutional amendment for birthright citizenship," he told reporters. "I believe you can have a simple vote in Congress or it's even possible, in my opinion -- this is after meeting with some very talented scholars -- that you can do it through an executive order." And he added, "Now I'd rather do it through Congress because that's permanent."
© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
