When Attorney General William Tong crossed the California-Mexico border into Tijuana, he met a young man waiting on the other side of the steel barrier, hoping to be granted asylum in the U.S. where his family lives.
The 18-year-old boy was waiting for a court date and a ruling on his asylum application (a legal means of entering the United States for people who believe their life is in danger elsewhere). Tong said under the Trump administration, asylum seekers are forced to wait in Mexico until their application is approved, which can take months.
“It was deeply affecting to me and gives real meaning to the work that we do every day on immigration in the attorney general’s office, from fighting the unconstitutional national emergency, protecting dreamers, fighting the turn-back policy, to fighting the family separation policy,” Tong said.
Tong has been in office for less than 80 days — he can spout the exact number, maybe even down to the minute, on a moments notice— and he’s making strides in defining the identity of the office under his leadership.
He isn’t seeking to take on the cases of individuals like the young man he met in Mexico, but he’s eager to fight back in broad terms against President Donald Trump’s policies — like the turn-back policy for asylum seekers — that he views as flagrant violations of civil rights.
He’s working to establish a civil rights division within his office, has hired at least one prominent civil rights lawyer, and has introduced legislation that would expand the attorney general’s right to not only defend the...
from News https://www.ctpost.com/politics/article/Tong-taking-attorney-general-s-office-on-civil-13720009.php
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