Appeals court narrows injunction on asylum ban

Aug. 16 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court Friday narrowed the injunction on President Donald Trump's asylum ban.

The injunction issued in mid-July would have barred migrants from seeking asylum if they passed through another nation first without seeking protection.

U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in California issued the nationwide injunction on July 24, saying that it as "inconsistent with existing asylum laws."

Now, Trump has scored a partial win as the federal appeals court narrowed the nationwide injunction Friday to the Ninth Circuit, encompassing district courts in border states of Arizona and California, clearing a path for the asylum ban to be imposed along the border in New Mexico and Texas.

The lower court "failed to discuss whether a nationwide injunction is necessary to remedy the Plaintiff's alleged harm" and "based on the limited record before us, we do not believe a nationwide injunction is justified," the appeals court said.

The three-judge panel was split 2-1, with Republican-appointees in favor of narrowing the scope.

The American Civil Liberties Union has argued that the ban should be blocked completely because it conflicts with federal asylum laws. ACLU attorney Lee Gerlent said in a statement he would "continue fighting to end the ban entirely."

The Trump administration also attempted to implement another asylum ban on migrants who cross the border illegally in November, but that was struck down weeks later by a federal judge who issued temporary injunction, allowing Latin American migrants to seek refuge in the United States even if they enter illegally.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling and the Supreme Court declined to overrule it.