Judge Declines to Block New Trump Asylum Rules

(Bloomberg) -- A federal judge in Washington let stand for now Trump administration rules that would make most migrants seeking to cross the southern border ineligible for sanctuary in the U.S.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly declined to issue a temporary restraining order stopping the rules, which became effective July 16, as immigrant-rights groups had sought. His decision appeared on the docket without a written ruling providing further explanation.

A federal judge in California is weighing a similar challenge to the rules.

Under the revised rules, no one crossing the U.S.-Mexico border will be eligible for asylum if they failed to apply for protection from persecution or torture in one of the countries they crossed en route. The change is aimed at families traversing Mexico and Central America’s “northern triangle” region of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

Kelly, a 2017 appointee of President Donald Trump, on Monday heard more than three hours of argument over issues including whether those suing have sustained the requisite legal injuries to pursue the case. At the hearing, the U.S. asked why no aliens who may be subject to new government regulations were in court.

The immigrant-rights groups’ lawyer Mitchell Reich argued that the administration didn’t have the right to unilaterally modify the existing law. The Justice Department countered that Attorney General William Barr had the authority to make rule changes consistent with the statute.

The case is Capital Area Immigrant Rights Coalition v. Trump, 19-cv-2117, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Harris in federal court in Washington at aharris16@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Peter Jeffrey

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.