On Monday a federal judge in San Francisco barred the Trump administration from refusing asylum to immigrants who cross the southern border illegally.
Many speculate this may likely prompt legal challenge from the White House.
U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar for the Northern District of
The request was made by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights, which quickly sued after President Trump issued the ban this month in response to the caravans of migrants that have started to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Baher Azmy, a lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights, said, “Individuals are entitled to asylum if they cross between ports of entry. It couldn’t be clearer.”
Judge Jon S. Tigar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said that a policy announced November 9 barring asylum for immigrants who enter outside a legal checkpoint ‘
“Whatever the scope of the President’s authority, he may not rewrite the immigration laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressly forbidden,” Tigar wrote, adding that asylum seekers would be put at “increased risk of violence and other harms at the border” if the administration’s rule is allowed to go into effect.
The temporary restraining order is effective nationwide and will remain in effect until December 19, when the judge has scheduled another hearing, or further order of the court.
