A Federal Judge Blocked a Biden Administration Plan That Drastically Limited Applications for Asylum in the US

Miriam Jordan and Eileen Sullivan / The New York Times

A group of men from El Salvador were detained in May by Border Patrol agents in Sunland Park, N.M. (photo: Todd Heisler/NYT)

A Federal Judge Blocked a Biden Administration Plan That Drastically Limited Applications for Asylum in the US

Miriam Jordan and Eileen Sullivan / The New York Times

26 july 23

Immigrant advocacy groups had challenged the administration’s decision to sharply limit who is allowed to apply for asylum in the United States.

A federal judge struck down on Tuesday a stringent new asylum policy that the Biden administration has called crucial to its efforts to curb illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The ruling was a blow to the White House, which has seen unlawful entries plunge since the new policy was put in place in May. But the policy has been far from the only factor in the dramatic decline in crossings, and how the ruling on Tuesday will affect migration, if it stands, is uncertain.

The judge, Jon S. Tigar of the U.S. District Court in Northern California, immediately stayed his decision for 14 days, leaving the asylum policy in place while the federal government appealed the decision. The appellate court could extend the stay while it considers the challenge.