SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A divided U.S. appeals court has refused to immediately allow the Trump administration to enforce a ban on asylum for any immigrants who illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
In a 2-1 ruling late Friday, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the ban is likely inconsistent with existing U.S. law.
An email to a spokesman for the Justice Department was not immediately returned.
At issue is President Donald Trump's Nov. 9 proclamation that barred anyone who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border between official ports of entry from seeking asylum. Trump issued the proclamation in response to caravans of migrants approaching the border.
A lower court judge temporarily blocked the ban and later refused to immediately reinstate it. The administration appealed to the 9th Circuit.
