US Appeals Court Partial Setback to Trump Rule to Curtail Asylum

US Appeals Court Deals Partial Setback to Trump Rule to Curtail Asylum

A US appeals court on Friday dealt a setback to the Trump administration attempt to bar almost all asylum applications at the U.S.-Mexico border, but stopped short of applying its decision nationwide.

While ruling against a provision of President Donald Trump’s hard-line anti-immigration policy, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the decision would only apply to the nine Western states that make up the 9th Circuit, only two of which - California and Arizona - are on the southern border.

That left open the possibility that the sweeping ban, which requires most asylum-seekers to first seek safe haven in a third country, could be applied in the border states of Texas and New Mexico.

The appellate court ruling came on the same day California and other states, as well as a coalition of advocacy groups, filed lawsuits to stop a separate Trump initiative to reduce legal immigration by denying visas to poor migrants.

The flurry of legal activity is attempting to halt major policy moves by the Trump administration to crack down on immigration, an issue central to the Republican president’s political fortunes.