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Appeals court rejects broad Trump administration bid to block asylum applications

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by Tolu Talabi - 04/24/26 1:49 PM ET

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by Tolu Talabi - 04/24/26 1:49 PM ET

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A federal appeals court on Friday rejected President Trump’s effort to ban migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border from seeking asylum, stating it ignored laws enacted by Congress.

“Congress enacted the asylum statute, with narrow exceptions specified by statute, to grant all foreign individuals ‘physically present’ in the United States a right to apply for asylum and have their individual applications adjudicated,” the judges said. “If the Government wishes to modify this carefully structured and intricate system, it must present those arguments to the only branch of government able to amend the INA [Immigration and Nationality Act]: Congress.”

The 2-1 decision effectively blocks a proclamation Trump signed on the first day of his second term, in which he argued that the number of foreign individuals attempting to cross the southern border was an “invasion” that prevented the federal government from maintaining operational control of the border.

The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upholds a July 2025 ruling by US District Judge Randolph Moss, in which he argued that the president had overstepped his authority in severely limiting asylum for migrants fleeing danger and persecution.

Last year, the D.C. Circuit issued an administrative pause on Moss’s ruling, before eventually lifting the stay, while narrowing his ruling. It allowed the government to carry out Trump’s order to block migrants from the asylum system, but stated it couldn’t disqualify migrants from other forms of protection against torture.

Moss is an Obama appointee, while the two judges who upheld his ruling, Judge Michelle Childs and Nina Pillard, were Biden and Obama appointees, respectively. Judge Justin Walker, the dissenting vote, is a Trump selection.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, during an appearance on Fox News Friday afternoon, said she hadn’t seen the ruling, but went on to attack the judges.

“Unfortunately, while it’s newsy, it’s unsurprising to me. We have liberal judges across the country who are acting against this president for political purposes,” she said.

“Everything that this President has done and signed with respect to the southern border is completely within his powers as commander in chief, and these judges should be thanking the president of the United States for ending the border invasion that was allowed by the previous administration.”

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