Sure, they may apply for asylum. However, if they entered illegally, then they should be detained so that if they are not accepted for asylum then they can get deported.
First: They are not entering illegally if they intend to report within a year. Entering illegally is something that non-refugees do. This is why Nielsen's claims about "criminal refugees" are misleading at best -- she's talking about the "crime" of entering the country in the way we explicitly allow.
Second: Consider what an actual refugee crisis looks like. You can't detain hundreds of thousands of people crossing over a massive border, both for logistical and humanitarian reasons. That's why we're a signatory to the 1951 agreement.
This is probably what 45 is referring to when he talks about a "loophole" in immigration law, and why he feels politically safe asking for a legislative rather than executive solution. But to be absolutely clear: nothing about our current laws requires that we separate children from their parents, or detain refugee applicants indefinitely. Those are both cruel options, chosen to terrorize an already vulnerable population.
>First: They are not entering illegally if they intend to report within a year.
Illegal entry is illegal entry. I don't know what you're talking about. There is no exemption for asylum seekers.
>This is probably what 45 is referring to when he talks about a "loophole" in immigration law
The loophole is that the Trump administration is enforcing an existing law that was not enforced by previous administrations. You're advocating for following the precedent set by previous administrations and simply ignore the law again.
>and why he feels politically safe asking for a legislative rather than executive solution.
But it should be a legislative solution. It is a bad law that was made worse by the ninth circuit interpretation. If 1/10th of the pressure that is levied on Trump was put on Congress, this law would be changed already.
The fact that Democrats in Congress are now using this for political gains is incredibly distasteful. [1]
The US is currently breaking its commitment to the 1951 UN convention on the rights of refugees by not ignoring "irregular entry."
[1]: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1158