A federal judge on Wednesday blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order preventing illegal immigrants from seeking asylum, a major aspect of the administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration across the southern border.
U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss, an appointee of former President Obama, ruled that Trump’s January executive order indefinitely suspending American asylum law is not authorized by the Constitution or the Immigration and Nationality Act.
“The court recognizes that the executive branch faces enormous challenges in preventing and deterring unlawful entry into the United States and in adjudicating the overwhelming backlog of asylum claims of those who have entered the country,” the Washington, D.C., federal judge said.
“But the INA, by its terms, provides the sole and exclusive means for removing people already present in the country.
The judge said Trump lacks the authority to unilaterally limit the ability for illegal immigrants to apply for asylum or create an “alternative immigration system” to the one currently in place. He also granted the plaintiffs’ request to create a class of illegal immigrants who are currently subject to Trump’s order or could be in the future.
Moss created the class to circumvent the recent Supreme Court ruling meant to restrict the ability of lower court judges to issue nationwide injunctions. The Supreme Court’s decision prevents nationwide injunctions from applying to outside parties unaffected by the specific law in question.
“To try to circumvent the Supreme Court ruling on nationwide injunctions a marxist judge has declared that all potential FUTURE illegal aliens on foreign soil (eg a large portion of planet earth) are part of a protected global ‘class’ entitled to admission into the United States,” Stephen Miller, a senior White House official and homeland security adviser to President Trump, posted on X.
Trump administration officials have routinely criticized lower court federal judges for perceived overreach in attempting to stop the president from enacting his agenda.
Moss gave the White House 14 days to appeal the order and seek emergency relief with an appellate court in Washington. The Trump administration is expected to appeal imminently.
The American Civil Liberties Union, a left-wing legal activist organization, and other pro-immigration groups represented 13 plaintiffs seeking asylum in the U.S.
“This is a hugely important decision. Not only will it save the lives of families fleeing grave danger, it reaffirms that the president cannot ignore the laws Congress has passed and the most basic premise of our country’s separation of powers,” said Lee Gelernt, an ACLU attorney.
Trump’s executive order characterizes the flood of illegal immigration under former President Biden as an ongoing “invasion” at the southern border. To stop the “invasion,” Trump has signed a series of sweeping executive orders meant to crackdown on illegal immigration and facilitate the most expansive deportation campaign in American history.