Washington DC - A US federal appeals court ruled on Friday that President Donald Trump cannot prevent migrants from seeking asylum at the border.
The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld a lower court ruling that Trump exceeded his legal authority by banning migrants who have illegally crossed the US-Mexico border from making asylum claims.
"Congress did not intend to grant the Executive the expansive removal authority it asserts," the judges said.
"Congress enacted the asylum statute... to grant all foreign individuals 'physically present' in the United States a right to apply for asylum and have their individual applications adjudicated," they said.
"If the Government wishes to modify this carefully structured and intricate system, it must present those arguments to the only branch of government able to amend the INA (Immigration and Nationality Act): Congress."
District Judge Randolph Moss had ruled last year, in a case brought by immigrant rights groups and asylum seekers, that Trump's proclamation barring asylum requests was a violation of the INA.
Trump campaigned for president, promising to expel millions of undocumented migrants from the US.
Since returning to the White House in January last year, the Republican president has sped up deportations and reduced border crossings.
Some of his mass deportation efforts have been thwarted or stalled by the courts over concerns that migrant rights to due process are being ignored.