A federal appeals court Friday blocked Team Trump from enacting tough asylum restrictions on Central Americans who show up at the border in California and Arizona — but gave the White House the OK to impose them in Texas and New Mexico.
The ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals allows President Trump to reject asylum seekers who cross from Mexico into either latter border state.
Under the appeals ruling, Judge Jon Tigar’s July 24 order stopping the policy would only apply in California and Arizona, which are covered by the Ninth Circuit, a court the president has repeatedly slammed over rulings he doesn’t like.
The two busiest areas for border crossings are in South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley and the region around El Paso, Texas, which includes New Mexico.
In July, nearly 50,000 people crossed the US border without permission in those two regions, according to the Border Patrol.
The policy would deny asylum to anyone who passes through another country on the way to the US without seeking protection there.
Most of the people crossing the southern border are Central Americans who say they are fleeing violence and poverty but who would largely be ineligible.
The policy would also apply to people from Africa, Asia and South America who come to the southern border to request asylum.
If the policy is implemented, ineligible migrants who cross in New Mexico and Texas could be detained and more quickly deported.
Tigar had ruled the policy could expose migrants to violence and abuse, deny their rights under international law, and return them to countries they were fleeing.
The appeals court ruled that Tigar’s order hadn’t considered whether a nationwide order was necessary and that there wasn’t enough evidence presented yet to conclude that it was.
The court instructed Tigar to “further develop the record in support of a preliminary injunction” extending nationwide.
With AP