A federal judge has blocked the deportation of a group of asylum-seekers after President Donald Trump claimed the U.S. was being “invaded” by immigrants, in a potentially momentous case.
Why It Matters
The court’s decision to stay Trump’s executive order is an important moment in the battle between the Trump administration on one side and immigrant groups and Democratic politicians on the other.
The case will determine whether immigrants have a right to claim asylum on the southern border. On a broader level, it is also a test of whether presidential orders can supersede Congress. What To Know
A federal judge in Washington, D.C. has stopped the Trump administration from deporting eight asylum-seekers. Some of eight asylum-seekers have already been deported and will have a right to return while the case continues.
Others are still in the U.S, in immigration detention. On February 20, Judge Randolph Moss, a Barack Obama appointee, placed a temporary stay on the deportations until the Justice Department provides more information.
Moss ordered that the eight, identified only in court documents as A.M, Z.A, T.A, A.T, M.A, N.S, B.R, and G.A, not be deported “during the pendency of the stay.”
The case was taken by the eight asylum-seekers and the Refugee and Immigrant Center For Education And Legal Services.
Summarizing the events in the case, Moss noted that on January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation declaring that “the current situation at the southern border qualifies as an invasion.”
Trump’s order restricted the ability of noncitizens “engaged in the invasion” to invoke “provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that would permit their continued presence in the United States.”
Moss noted that Trump’s order specifically states that noncitizens do not have an automatic right to claim asylum.