The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that an injunction on President Trump’s new asylum rules could only be upheld within the circuit, which includes the border states of California and Arizona.
The federal court’s decision means that Texas and New Mexico will uphold Trump’s strict asylum rules that forbid migrants who have traveled through more than two countries from applying for asylum. The rules state that migrants from Central American countries who pass through other countries must be denied refugee status in those nations before being eligible to apply in the United States.
The decision on Friday upholds a July 24 decision by a Northern District of California judge to block Trump’s rules but only within the 9th Circuit. The July injunction was ruled on just hours after a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled to uphold the asylum restrictions. The 9th Circuit’s Friday ruling cited that the trial judge who blocked the rules nationwide did not have the right to do so.
Though the decision could be considered a victory for the Trump administration, the liberal-leaning 9th Circuit Court has been a consistent opponent of Trump’s strict approach to immigration. On Thursday, the court rejected Trump’s attempt to limit facilities for migrant children detained at the border.
“Assuring that children eat enough edible food, drink clean water, are housed in hygienic facilities with sanitary bathrooms, have soap and toothpaste, and are not sleep-deprived are without doubt essential to the children’s safety,” the three-judge panel said.
Of the Friday decision, the court expressed doubt that Trump’s rules were legal but ruled that they did not have the scope or power to impose a nationwide injunction.
