Supreme Court Upholds Injunction Against Trump Administration’s Asylum Restrictions

In a 5-4 decision the Supreme Court on Friday voted to uphold a federal judge’s order to block the newest asylum restrictions signed by the Trump administration earlier this year.

The ruling, which splayed the Court along ideological lines, was broken by Chief Justice John Roberts, who sided with more liberal judges and saw the first high-profile vote in which the court’s newest justice, Brett Kavanaugh, broke from Roberts.

The restrictions that the Court rejected would have barred migrants seeking asylum in the United States from entering had they not come in from an already official port of entry, along the southern boarder.

Justice Department spoakesmen Steven Stafford vowed that the Trump administration would continue to fight the Courts ruling to block the ban.

“We are disappointed that the Court did not stay one of the unprecedented 25 nationwide injunctions against the Trump administration, but the Court has not fully considered the merits of this case,” Stafford said. “We will continue to defend the Executive Branch’s lawful authority over the discretionary benefit of asylum.”

The ruling comes after a December 19 hearing in which the Justice Department asked California Judge Jon Tigar to reverse a prior November decision and allow asylum restrictions to take effect while pending appeal.

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling Friday, Lee Gelerent, an attorney with the ACLU praised the move saying it “will save lives and keep vulnerable families and children from persecution.”