A US Federal Appeal Court on Friday blocked a measure by President Donald Trump banning asylum requests from undocumented migrants who enter the country via Mexico.
The measure, part of a proclamation signed by Trump on his first day in office, had labelled the situation at the southern border an “invasion,” due to a surge in migrants seeking to enter the United States.
In July, a federal judge in Washington temporarily suspended the proclamation, ruling that the Immigration and Nationality Act alone governs deportation procedures.
The judge argued that neither the Immigration and Nationality Act nor the Constitution grants the president or his administration the “exorbitant powers” claimed in the proclamation.
The Washington Appeals Court upheld this reasoning on Friday. It stated that the US Congress has enacted asylum laws to make sure that all foreign individuals “physically present” in the United States have the right to apply for asylum and have their cases individually reviewed.
The court clarified that if the government intends to change this system, it would need to address its arguments to Congress, which alone holds the authority to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The initial case was brought by 13 individuals fleeing persecution in various countries, including Afghanistan, Ecuador, Cuba, Egypt, Brazil, Turkey, and Peru, alongside three immigrant rights organisations.
Six of these individuals had already been deported under the proclamation, according to the federal judge.
Since assuming office, Trump has made immigration his top priority, frequently portraying the issue as an “invasion” of the United States by “foreign criminals” and widely publicising efforts to deport migrants.
However, his efforts at mass deportations have been repeatedly challenged or delayed by court rulings, which have often emphasized that affected individuals deserve the opportunity to assert their legal rights.
