Trump administration asks Supreme Court to lift order blocking asylum rule

The Trump administration on Monday asked the Supreme Court to lift an order preventing it from enforcing a rule that would limit asylum claims.

Federal Judge Jon Tigar last month temporarily blocked the administration from enforcing the rule, which requires some asylum-seekers to first ask for refuge in a country they went through on their way to the U.S.

Earlier this month, the California-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Tigar’s ruling, but only in the states which it had jurisdiction over, leaving open the possibility of the rule being applied in Texas and New Mexico.

{mosads}The Monday filing by solicitor general Noel Francisco argued that Tigar’s injunction “unduly interferes with the Executive’s authority to establish immigration policy.”

“The injunction now in effect is deeply flawed and should be stayed pending appeal and pending any further proceedings in this Court,” the document said.

In the filing, the government argued that the rule, which was issued in July, “alleviates a crushing burden on the U.S. asylum system by prioritizing asylum seekers who most need asylum in the United States.” 

Immigrant rights groups, however, have argued that the rule harms migrants. 

Tigar, an Obama appointee, argued in his injunction that the rule contradicts existing asylum laws. He added that it was “arbitrary and capricious” and said that asylum-seekers won’t have “a safe and effective alternative via other countries’ refugee processes.” 

The Supreme Court last year did not allow the administration to implement a different policy preventing people who cross the U.S.-Mexico border outside an official entry port from seeking asylum.