The Trump administration can temporarily continue returning asylum seekers to Mexico

A federal appeals court in California on Friday temporarily blocked a judge's order that would have halted the Trump administration from returning asylum seekers to Mexico.

The decision follows the White House's emergency motion filing on Thursday to allow the government to continue forcing migrants to wait in Mexico while their asylum cases remained under review. On Monday, Judge Richard Seeborg ruled in favor of three civil liberties groups suing the government over the practice.

His ruling would have put a stop to it on Friday, but the appeals court has now set a Tuesday deadline for the groups to submit arguments as to why the order blocking the Trump administration should take effect. The Trump administration, meanwhile, will have until Wednesday to argue why the policy should remain in place.

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Per NBC News, since the policy was implemented in January, 1,323 Central American migrants have been returned to Mexico, including 308 families and 428 children under the age of 18.