Federal Appeals Court Rejects Trump Bid to Block Asylum Claims For Migrants at U.S.-Mexico Border

In one of his first actions after returning to the White House, President Donald Trump signed an order on Jan. 20, 2025, declaring the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border an “invasion” and suspending the entry of migrants and their ability to apply for asylum until he determines the situation has ended.

The policy quickly faced legal challenges and has since been tied up in court. This week, a divided federal appeals court rejected the administration’s effort to broadly block migrants from seeking asylum, setting up a likely review by the Supreme Court.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 that the proclamation and implementing regulations conflict with federal immigration law, including the Immigration and Nationality Act, which provides certain migrants the right to apply for asylum once they are on U.S. soil.

Judges Michelle Childs and Cornelia Pillard wrote that Congress created a “carefully structured” asylum system that can only be changed by lawmakers, not through executive action.

“If the Government wishes to modify this carefully structured and intricate system, it must present those arguments to the only branch of government able to amend the INA: Congress,” they wrote.

The dissenting judge, Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, said he would have allowed migrants to seek other forms of protection but not asylum.

Walker, however, agreed with the majority that the president cannot deport migrants to countries where they will be persecuted or strip them of mandatory procedures that protect against their removal.

The administration can ask the full D.C. Circuit to rehear the case or appeal directly to the Supreme Court, The Associated Press reported. The order also cannot formally take effect until after the court considers any request to reconsider.

As the case likely prepares to reach the Supreme Court, immigrant rights advocates called the ruling significant.

American Civil Liberties Union attorney Lee Gelernt, who represents migrants in the case, said it could prevent asylum seekers from being denied hearings.

The decision upholds a July ruling by U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss, who also found the policy unlawful. Moss, appointed by former President Barack Obama, said last year administration had exceeded its authority even as it cited strain at the border and a growing backlog of asylum cases.

“The President cannot adopt an alternative immigration system, which supplants the statutes that Congress has enacted,” Moss wrote.

Trump has argued that the Immigration and Nationality Act gives the president authority to suspend entry of groups deemed “detrimental” to U.S. interests.

Originally published on Latin Times