A Biden administration rule limiting immigrants other than Mexican nationals from seeking asylum in the United States was blocked Tuesday by a federal judge.
U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar ruled against the Biden administration order, which mirrors the Trump-era “transit ban” policy requiring migrants entering through the southern border to apply online first for protection in other countries they traveled through.
Tigar, a federal judge in California appointed by former President Obama, wrote in his 35-page decision that the rule violates a federal law allowing anyone to claim asylum while in the United States.
“The Court concludes that the Rule is contrary to law because it presumes ineligible for asylum noncitizens who enter between ports of entry, using a manner of entry that Congress expressly intended should not affect access to asylum,” Tigar wrote.
Tigar added that Biden’s rule also contradicts federal law “because it presumes ineligible for asylum noncitizens who…