Judge Blocks Trump’s Asylum Ban at the Southern Border

U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss wrote that Trump exceeded his authority when he unilaterally declared that illegal immigration was a national emergency.

Donald Trump at the border
Evan Vucci/AP

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from preventing migrants who crossed the southern border anywhere other than a recognized port of entry from applying for asylum.

In a 128-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss ruled that Trump illegally exceeded his authority by unilaterally declaring that illegal immigration was a national emergency in an executive order on his first day in office.

Specifically, Moss found that Trump’s order violated the Immigration and Nationality Act.