Appeals Court Rules Trump’s Border Asylum Ban Unlawful

A divided federal appeals court ruled Friday that President Trump cannot use his border proclamation to suspend access to asylum or to summarily remove migrants who cross the southern border, CBS News and the Associated Press reported.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found that the Immigration and Nationality Act does not give the president that power. Judge J. Michelle Childs, nominated by President Biden, wrote for the majority, joined by Judge Cornelia Pillard, an Obama nominee. “The power by proclamation to temporarily suspend the entry of specified foreign individuals into the United States does not contain implicit authority to override the INA’s mandatory process to summarily remove foreign individuals,” Childs wrote, according to the AP. She said Congress “did not intend to grant the Executive the expansive removal authority it asserts,” CBS News reported.

Judge Justin Walker, a Trump nominee, concurred in part and dissented in part. He agreed that the administration cannot strip migrants of the procedures that protect them from being sent to countries where they would likely be persecuted or tortured, but argued it is within the president’s lawful discretion to deny all asylum applications, both outlets reported. That distinction is likely to frame any further appeal.

The policy dates to Mr. Trump’s first day back in office, when he directed the suspension of the asylum process, calling the border situation an “invasion,” CBS News reported. The Department of Homeland Security then told border officials that people crossing between ports of entry were “not permitted to apply for asylum” and could be removed under summary procedures, “direct repatriation” or “expedited removal.”

The ACLU, which challenged the policy, welcomed the decision. Lee Gelernt, the lead attorney, said the ruling “will potentially save the lives of thousands of people fleeing grave danger who were denied even a hearing under the Trump administration’s horrific asylum ban,” CBS News reported. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, the AP said.

The administration can ask the full D.C. Circuit to rehear the case or appeal to the Supreme Court, CBS News reported. The AP described the asylum suspension as a key pillar of Mr. Trump’s plan to crack down on migration at the southern border. CBS News noted that many parts of his immigration agenda have faced legal challenges.