By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press
A U.S. appeals court has blocked President Donald Trump's executive order suspending asylum access at the southern border. The court ruled Friday that immigration laws allow people to apply for asylum at the border, and the president cannot bypass this. The decision stems from Trump's action on Inauguration Day 2025, declaring the border situation an invasion and suspending asylum. The court found that the Immigration and Nationality Act doesn't give the president authority to override asylum procedures. The White House says the asylum ban was within Trump's powers, but the Department of Justice plans to seek further review.
By REBECCA SANTANA AND ELLIOT SPAGAT Associated Press
A federal judge has ruled that an executive order by President Donald Trump suspending asylum access at the southern border is unlawful. Wednesday's decision could throw into doubt one of the key pillars of the president's plans to crack down on immigration at the southern border. But the judge gave the Trump administration two weeks to appeal. In an executive order Jan. 20, Trump declared that the situation at the southern border was an invasion, and he was "suspending the physical entry" of migrants and their ability to seek asylum until he decides it is over.
Asylum-seekers from around the world face new challenges at the U.S. border. President Donald Trump suspended the asylum system just after his inauguration as part of his wide-ranging crackdown on illegal immigration. Lawyers, activists and immigrants say the process is now unclear, with many people deported after fleeting conversations with immigration officials while others languish in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. Attorneys who work frequently with asylum-seekers at the border say their phones have gone quiet since Trump took office. Legal battles are ongoing, with rights groups challenging the restrictions.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says a "standing army" of specialist police will be set up to deal with rioting and the justice system will be ramped up to deal with hundreds of arrests after violent disorder rocked cities across the nation over the past week. Starmer has held an urgent meeting with ministers and top law enforcement officials as he seeks to end violence and attacks on immigrants, mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers. Starmer has called such attacks far-right thuggery. Misinformation spread online has whipped up anger over a stabbing rampage at a dance class that left three girls dead and many more wounded.
President Joe Biden says the U.S. will immediately begin turning away Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who cross the border from Mexico illegally. It's his boldest move yet to confront spiraling arrivals of migrants since he took office two years ago. The new rules expand on an existing effort to stop Venezuelans attempting to enter the U.S., which led to a dramatic drop in Venezuelans coming to the U.S. border. Together the changes represent a major revision to immigration rules that will stand even if the U.S. Supreme Court ends a Trump-era public health law that allows American authorities to turn away asylum seekers.
