July 25 (UPI) — A policy that turns back migrants who do not first apply for asylum from their home country has been blocked by a federal judge in what is seen as a blow to the Biden administration.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar stems from a lawsuit filed by the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, which provides housing for low-income migrants and asylum seekers, and other groups in California, court records obtained by UPI show.
Specifically, the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule presumed migrants ineligible for asylum if they had not filed for asylum before reaching the southern border — with exceptions made for unaccompanied children and certain other non-citizens.
The ACLU took to social media to decry the ruling.
“A federal court found the Biden administration’s new asylum ban illegal,” the ACLU, which argued the case, said in a statement on Threads. “The administration now faces a choice: Follow the law or try to block the ruling from taking effect in 14 days, leaving people seeking safety in grave danger.”
Tigar’s decision could complicate the situation at the southern border for the Biden administration, which has been criticized by conservatives for its immigration policies. Many conservatives notably had supported the latest policy, which went into effect on May 16.
The judge did put a two-week stay on his ruling before it takes effect, allowing the policy to stand as the Justice Department appeals the ruling. The case is expected to go before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Tigar made similar rulings against the policies of the administration of former President Donald Trump and even joked in a hearing last week that 2023 was going to be “a big year for sequels.”
The Biden administration put the rule in effect in May after the Trump-era Title 42 restrictions, which allowed authorities to turn away migrants because of the COVID-19 pandemic, ended.
“The rule — which has been in effect for two months — cannot remain in place, and vacating the challenged rule would restore a regulatory regime that was in place for decades before,” Tigar wrote in the ruling.
Earlier this year, the United States and Canada reached an agreement to make changes to a longstanding deal that would allow the countries to divert asylum seekers from their borders to stem surging migration.
