A federal judge on Wednesday blocked President Trump’s asylum ban at the southern border, determining it ran afoul of immigration laws protecting the rights of those seeking refuge in the U.S.
The decision blocks a Day 1 order from Trump seeking to end asylum for all but those who entered the U.S. at ports of entry — arguing the move was needed to prevent an “invasion” at the border.
But U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss said Trump went beyond his authority in drastically limiting asylum for those fleeing persecution and danger.
Moss found Trump’s order violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which lays out strict guidelines for who qualifies for asylum and how they can seek the protections — including by crossing between ports of entry.
“The West will not survive if our sovereignty is not restored,” Stephen Miller, the architect of the White House’s immigration policy, responded to the ruling on X.
“Nothing in the INA or the Constitution grants the President or his delegees the sweeping authority asserted in the Proclamation and implementing guidance,” Moss wrote in his 128-page opinion.
The judge rejected that Trump had inherent presidential authority over admission decisions into the country, even if federal law didn’t give him the power.
“To hold otherwise would render much, if not most, of the INA simply optional,” wrote Moss, an appointee of former President Obama.
Moss postponed his ruling for 14 days, which gives the administration an opportunity to ask an appeals court to intervene.
The legal battle began in early February, just days into Trump’s presidency and soon after he signed the proclamation on Inauguration Day.
Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 13 anonymous asylum seekers sued alongside three immigration nonprofits, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center and the Florence Project.
The administration had agreed to not deport any of the 13 people as the litigation progresses, but Wednesday’s ruling now covers anyone impacted by Trump’s proclamation nationwide.
“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,” ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt said in a statement.
The judge’s decision does not, however, apply to people already removed from the country. Moss noted those cases pose “difficult questions” and will be addressed later.
A number of migrants who have crossed the border in recent years have done so turn themselves over to Border Protection officials in order to make the claim.
But the uptick in those seeking the protections over the past several years has made the process a target for Republicans, who argue the system is being abused.
Asylum seekers cannot be granted the protections if they are fleeing what is deemed “generalized violence” and many who seek the status do not receive it when their case is considered by the Department of Homeland Security or in immigration court.
But a years-long backlog in reviewing such cases means applicants may spend years in the U.S. before their claims are fully weighed.
During the first Trump administration, Trump used Title 42 to block migrants from seeking asylum at the border, closing off the process and allowing them to be swiftly expelled instead.
Former President Biden kept those same limitations in place for over two years.
Updated 5:36 p.m.