Supreme Court OKs Trump asylum ban while lawsuit plays out in courts

Sept. 11 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled in favor of the Trump administration's new rule cracking down on asylum applications at the border.

The ruling gives border and immigration officials permission to implement an asylum rule announced in July while lawsuits against the crackdown play out in lower courts. The rule says people who pass through another country to get to the U.S. border can't seek asylum in the United States.

The opinion is a victory for the Trump administration, which is trying to limit the number of migrants at the border amid an influx over the past several months. The new rule means migrants from countries such as Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador must first ask for asylum in neighboring Mexico.

Earlier this month, a federal judge in California reinstated a nationwide injunction on the so-called asylum ban, saying it is inconsistent with existing asylum laws.

White House principal deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said the administration is "pleased" with the Supreme Court's ruling.

"This greatly helps build on the progress we've made addressing the crisis at our southern border and will ultimately make American communities safer.

"The district court's erroneous nationwide injunction was another in a series of overreaching orders that allowed a single, non-elected district court judge to override policy decisions for the entire Nation. While there is much more work still to be done, thankfully the Supreme Court took a decisive step here and rejected the lower court's egregious ruling."

The high court's vote on the measure wasn't revealed, though Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomator issued a dissenting opinion.

"Once again the Executive Branch has issued a rule that seeks to upend longstanding practices regarding refugees who seek shelter from persecution," Sotomayor wrote.

"Although this Nation has long kept its door open to refugees -- and although the stakes for asylum seekers could not be higher -- the Government implemented its rule without first providing the public notice and inviting the public input generally required."

The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Trump administration one day after it announced the new rule, calling it an unlawful undermining of the U.S. asylum system.