Overview
- - A divided D.C. Circuit panel, which ruled Friday, affirmed a lower court and blocked President Trump’s order that halted asylum at the southern border.
- - The court said the Immigration and Nationality Act lets anyone on U.S. soil apply for asylum and related safeguards, so the president cannot bar applications or create new summary removal procedures by proclamation.
- - Judges J. Michelle Childs and Cornelia Pillard formed the majority, while Judge Justin Walker agreed on required protections against persecution but argued the president may deny all asylum.
- - The administration plans to seek rehearing and possibly Supreme Court review, and the ruling does not take full effect until any reconsideration is resolved, leaving the timing for restored processing unclear.
- - The decision does not itself reopen ports of entry or change control over who may enter, but once effective it would require officials to accept claims from people already inside the United States.