What happened
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., Wednesday ruled that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority and violated federal law by shutting down the U.S.-Mexico border to asylum seekers in a January proclamation.
Who said what
Presidents face "enormous challenges in preventing and deterring unlawful entry" into the U.S. and in working through the "overwhelming backlog of asylum claims," U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss wrote in his 128-page opinion. But neither the Constitution nor immigration law gives the executive branch an "extra-statutory, extra-regulatory" power to "adopt an alternative immigration system" that denies migrants the right to seek asylum from persecution.
The ruling in the class action lawsuit applies to most asylum-seekers in the U.S., throwing up another "legal roadblock" for Trump's "aggressive" immigration crackdown, The Washington Post said. But while federal courts have "limited" some of his policies, "immigration arrests are up sharply, border crossings are down dramatically" and Trump's "sprawling tax bill" in Congress "would turbocharge funding for immigration enforcement." Trump's multiple attempts to restrict asylum in his first term were also blocked by federal courts.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Moss postponed his order for 14 days to give the administration time to appeal, and a White House spokesperson said they would. But if the ruling is not overturned, "the processing of asylum claims at the border would resume immediately," Axios said.
-
France targets Shein over weapons, sex dollsSpeed Read Shein was given 48 hours to scrub the items from their website
-
Trump tariffs face stiff scrutiny at Supreme CourtSpeed Read Even some of the Court’s conservative justices appeared skeptical
-
FAA to cut air travel as record shutdown rolls onSpeed Read Up to 40 airports will be affected
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Chicago: Scenes from a city under siegeFeature Chicago is descending into chaos as masked federal agents target people in public spaces and threaten anyone who tries to document the arrests
-
How are ICE’s recruitment woes complicating Trump’s immigration agenda?TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Lowered training standards and ‘athletically allergic’ hopefuls are hindering the White House plan to turn the Department of Homeland Security into a federal police force
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
