Appeals court puts limit on order blocking asylum ban

A federal appeals court has reimposed a limit on an order blocking the Trump administration’s rule limiting migrants’ ability to apply for asylum, two days after a federal judge tried to expand the ruling.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday issued a stay on the order from U.S. District Court Judge Jon Tigar in Northern California until briefings on the case conclude Sept. 19.

{mosads}Tigar on Monday reimposed a nationwide ban on implementing the asylum rule, which would make most asylum-seekers who pass through another country before reaching the U.S. ineligible for asylum.

Exceptions exist in the rule for victims of trafficking and migrants who have been denied asylum in the countries they traveled through.

The 9th Circuit upheld Tigar’s initial ruling in August but narrowed the injunction to just Arizona and California, the two border states within its jurisdiction, allowing the administration to apply the rule in New Mexico and Texas.

The order blocking the asylum rule will once again just apply in Arizona and California.

The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to lift Tigar’s order twice, arguing that it “greatly impairs the government’s and the public’s interest in maintaining the integrity of the border.”

Julie Carpenter, senior litigation counsel at Tahirih Justice Center, which is pursuing a challenge to the asylum rule in D.C. court, told The Hill that the back and forth over Tigar’s order is only serving to complicate the situation at the border.

“Today, the Ninth Circuit temporarily lifted his injunction, at least while the parties make their arguments. So now, different asylum standards apply, all depending on where one crosses the border,” she said.

“This whipsaw effect disserves everyone- border agents and immigration courts to be sure- but most especially, the individuals fleeing persecution and violence who are seeking safe haven at our border.”

It is unclear whether the Supreme Court will ultimately take the case.