US Supreme court allows Trump administration to deny asylum

The US Supreme court ruled on Wednesday to grant a request by Trump administration to enforce nationwide restrictions that would prevent most Central American immigrants from seeking asylum in the US.

The administration announced in July a new policy that would deny asylum to anyone who passes through another country on their way to the US without seeking protection there first, therefore affecting almost all migrants who arrive at the US-Mexico border.

The justices’ order late Wednesday temporarily undoes a lower-court ruling that had blocked the new asylum policy in some states along the southern border.

The court’s ruling handed a victory to Trump at a time when much of his immigration agenda had been struck down by lower courts. “BIG United States Supreme Court WIN for the Border on Asylum!” Trump said on Twitter.

People crossing the southern border say that they are fleeing violence and poverty. They are largely ineligible under the new rule, as are asylum seekers from Africa, Asia and South America who arrive regularly at the southern border.

It was not clear how quickly the policy will be rolled out, and how exactly it fits in with the other efforts by the administration to restrict border crossings and tighten asylum rules.