Washington: A US appeals court has allowed President Joe Biden's new regulation restricting asylum access at the US-Mexico border to remain in effect for the time being, providing the Democrat with a short-term victory as he grapples with legal challenges to his immigration strategy.
The San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals stayed a district judge's July 25 ruling that found the regulation violated US law by denying asylum to some migrants caught crossing the border illegally.
Biden took office in 2021 promising to reverse many of former Republican President Donald Trump's hardline policies, but he has adopted some Trump-like border measures as his administration has faced record migrant crossings.
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Biden's new asylum regulation assumes that most migrants are ineligible for asylum if they passed through other countries without first seeking protection elsewhere, or if they failed to use legal entry routes into the US. When Title 42 expired on May 11, the measure went into effect.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other groups filed a lawsuit against the Biden bill, claiming it illegally denied asylum to some migrants caught crossing the border illegally and mirrored Trump-era restrictions that were also overturned in court.
US District Court Judge Jon Tigar, who blocked previous Trump policies, vacated the Biden regulation but granted a 14-day stay to allow for an appeal.
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Tigar stated that US law does not restrict asylum access for people illegally crossing the border and that transit countries to the south do not provide safe and viable alternatives to migrants.
The 9th Circuit's decision to keep the Biden policy in effect does not imply that it will eventually rule in favour of it.
The 9th Circuit upheld Tigar's decision to block a similar Trump regulation that limited asylum for migrants transiting through other countries en route to the United States in 2020.
The ACLU has the option of appealing the latest ruling to the United States Supreme Court, but conservative justices outnumber liberals 6-3
