SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Latest on the Trump administration's ban on asylum for anyone who illegally crosses the U.S.-Mexico border (all times local):
9:40 a.m.
A Nicaraguan who has been waiting for a month to ask for asylum at a U.S.-Mexico border crossing says he's going to wait a little longer.
Byron Torrez says he knows a federal judge in California temporarily blocked the Trump administration's effort to deny asylum to people who enter the U.S. without permission.
But the 28-year-old businessman, who has scars on his face from an acid attack while he was protesting against the Nicaragua government, says he doesn't want to do anything illegal.
The judge sided with civil liberties groups who argued it was against immigration law to deny asylum even if a migrant crossed the border illegally.
Trump administration officials say the president has a right to defend the border. The Justice Department has not said yet whether they will appeal the ruling, which is in effect for a month.
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10:35 p.m.
A federal judge has temporarily barred the Trump administration from refusing asylum to immigrants who cross the southern border illegally.
U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar issued a temporary restraining order Monday after hearing arguments in San Francisco.
President Donald Trump issued a proclamation Nov. 9 denying asylum to most border crossers as a response to the migrant caravans he decried before the November midterm election.
The administration directed asylum seekers to enter at one of the 26 official border crossings with Mexico. Legal groups sued hours after the proclamation was issued, arguing U.S. law clearly allows someone to seek asylum regardless of how they enter the country.
Trump used the same powers he used last year to impose a travel ban that was ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court.
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12:35 p.m.
Legal groups suing the Trump administration over its ban on asylum for anyone who illegally crosses the U.S.-Mexico border have argued their case before a federal judge in San Francisco.
U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar did not immediately rule Monday on the groups' request to stop the administration from enforcing the ban.
President Donald Trump issued a proclamation on Nov. 9 that says anyone who crossed the southern border would be ineligible for asylum. That would potentially make it harder for thousands of people who enter the U.S. to avoid deportation.
Trump issued the proclamation in response to the caravans of migrants that have started to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border. The American Civil Liberties Union quickly sued, saying U.S. law makes clear that people can seek asylum regardless of how they enter the country.
