September 9, 2019, Oakland, CA — A federal court has reinstated a nationwide injunction blocking a Trump administration asylum ban that denied asylum to anyone at the southern border who had transited through a third country en route to the United States.

It follows a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last month that narrowed the scope of the injunction to that circuit. The American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Constitutional Rights, and Southern Poverty Law Center, were in court on September 5 seeking reinstatement of the nationwide injunction. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar issued the ruling today. 

The following reaction is from:

ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt: “The court recognized there is grave danger facing asylum-seekers along the entire stretch of the southern border.”

Baher Azmy, Center for Constitutional Rights legal director: “We are gratified the court recognized the reality on the ground, which is that Trump’s asylum ban is affecting thousands of asylum-seekers all across the border — just as it was unlawfully intended to do — and not just at California ports of entry.”

Melissa Crow, senior supervising attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Immigrant Justice Project: “This ruling levels the playing field for all the vulnerable individuals and families seeking refuge in the United States. With this decision, regardless of where they cross the border, these people should be able to seek asylum. Sadly, while this ruling removes a major hurdle, far too many obstacles remain, as this administration’s war on asylum-seekers appears to know no bounds.”