Confusion on the Border as Appeals Court Blocks Trump's 'Remain in Mexico' Policy

After a year in which nearly 1 million migrants crossed the southwestern border, jamming processing facilities and defying President Donald Trump’s attempts to curtail immigration, border crossings have dropped sharply in recent months. But the new decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals invalidates one of the most effective restrictions, leaving the administration’s ability to control the arrival of new asylum-seekers in doubt.

A three-judge panel in San Francisco blocked the policy, often known as “Remain in Mexico,” that has required people applying for asylum at the border to wait in Mexico while their claims for protection are reviewed, a process that often takes months or years.

Since the restrictions were rolled out early in 2019, more than 59,000 asylum-seekers have been turned back by American authorities into Mexican border cities, where kidnappings and violence have surged. Because shelters in Mexico are scant and overrun, many of the migrants are living in vast tent encampments exposed to the elements. Powerful Mexican drug cartels have moved in to exploit them.

“It’s a resounding rejection,” said Judy Rabinovitz of the American Civil Liberties Union, who was the lead lawyer representing the plaintiffs. She added, “The policy is a disgrace, it’s illegal, it’s morally indefensible, and it needs to stop.”

Chad Wolf, acting secretary of homeland security, said U.S. border officials have continued to process meritorious asylum claims and reduced fraudulent and invalid claims.

“Should this ruling stand, the safety and security of our border communities, international relationships and regional stability is at risk,” he said in a statement.

Lawyers who brought the challenge represented a group of 11 asylum-seekers who had been returned to Mexico and several legal advocacy organizations. The plaintiffs won a nationwide injunction, but because a higher court stayed the ruling, the policy has continued to expand — most recently taking effect in Nogales, Arizona, in December.

Friday’s appeals court ruling prompted widespread celebration among those who had been fighting the policy, followed by hours of confusion over when and how it might go into effect. Wolf said his department was working with the Justice Department “to expeditiously appeal this inexplicable decision.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times .