Trump’s asylum ban at southern border shut down in major blow to immigration crackdown
Trump declared that the situation at the southern border constitutes an invasion of the US in the order signed earlier this year
A federal judge has blocked an order by Donald Trump banning asylum access at the southern border, in a major blow to the president’s immigration crackdown.
In an executive order in January, Trump declared that the situation at the southern border constitutes an invasion of the US and suspended “the physical entry” of migrants. The order also suspended the ability of migrants to seek asylum.
US District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington on Wednesday said Trump’s order was unlawful, but gave the government two weeks to appeal the decision.
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Moss wrote that neither the Constitution nor immigration law gives the president “an extra-statutory, extra-regulatory regime for repatriating or removing individuals from the United States, without an opportunity to apply for asylum.”
The American Civil Liberties Union said the ruling meant there would be “protection for those fleeing horrific danger.”
“The president cannot ignore laws passed by Congress simply by claiming that asylum seekers are engaged in an invasion,” he said.
The ACLU and other groups filed the complaint earlier this year.
Trump on Wednesday hailed a drop in illegal border crossings in June, while slamming “radical left judges trying to open the border.”
“CONGRATULATIONS AMERICA! The June Border Statistics are in and, once again, they are the LOWEST RECORDED NUMBERS IN UNITED STATES HISTORY,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“We still have Radical Left Judges trying to open the Border, and defy the Supreme Court, which is why Republicans must be smart, strong, and never let these Crazed Judges turn us into a Third World Country.”
Border Patrol made 6,070 arrests in June, down 30 percent from May, according to the White House.
On June 28, the Border Patrol made only 137 arrests, a huge drop from late 2023, when arrests topped 10,000 on the busiest days.
