US court blocks Trump order suspending asylum access, cites right to apply

A US appeals court has blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order that suspended asylum access, which was a major part of his plan to tighten migration rules at the US southern border.A three-judge panel from the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that immigration laws allow people to apply for asylum at the border, and the president does not have the authority to bypass that process.

The panel said the Immigration and Nationality Act does not allow the president to remove plaintiffs using “procedures of his own making,” or to suspend their right to seek asylum, or limit the process for hearing anti-torture claims.“The power by proclamation to temporarily suspend the entry of specified foreign individuals into the United States does not contain implicit authority to override the INA’s mandatory process to summarily remove foreign individuals,” wrote Judge J Michelle Childs, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Joe Biden, as quoted by AP.ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt welcomed the decision, saying, “essential for those fleeing danger who have been denied even a hearing to present asylum claims under the Trump administration’s unlawful and inhumane executive order.”Judge Justin Walker, a Trump nominee, issued a partial dissent. Judge Cornelia Pillard, nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, also heard the case.