Judge appointed by Trump strikes down his 3rd-country asylum immigration rule

Migrants wait at U.S. border crossing in Mexico

(Image credit: Paul Ratje/AFP/Getty Images)

published 1 July 2020

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly in Washington, D.C., struck down President Trump's third-country asylum rule late Tuesday, handing another blow to Trump's hardline immigration policies. The rule, enacted in 2019, effectively prevents mostly Central American migrants from applying for asylum in the U.S. unless they have first sought asylum in Mexico. Kelly, appointed by Trump in 2017, said the Trump administration failed to comply with the federal Administrative Procedure Act in its attempt to wrongfully sidestep the Immigration and Nationality Act.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.