Trump declared that the situation at the southern border constitutes an invasion of the US in the order signed earlier this year
A federal judge has struck down a key element of former President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, ruling that his executive order banning asylum access at the southern border is unlawful.
In January, Trump signed an executive order declaring the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border an “invasion,” suspending the physical entry of migrants and effectively shutting down the asylum process. But on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss ruled that the measure overstepped presidential authority.
Moss wrote that neither the Constitution nor immigration law allows the president to create “an extra-statutory, extra-regulatory regime for repatriating or removing individuals from the United States, without an opportunity to apply for asylum.”
He gave the government two weeks to appeal the decision.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the lawsuit along with other advocacy groups, welcomed the ruling. “The president cannot ignore laws passed by Congress simply by claiming that asylum seekers are an invading force,” the ACLU said, calling the decision a critical protection for people fleeing violence and persecution.
Despite the legal setback, Trump celebrated a recent drop in illegal border crossings, pointing to June statistics as evidence that his policies are working.
“CONGRATULATIONS AMERICA! The June Border Statistics are in and, once again, they are the LOWEST RECORDED NUMBERS IN UNITED STATES HISTORY,” Trump posted on Truth Social. He also took aim at the judiciary, writing, “We still have Radical Left Judges trying to open the Border, and defy the Supreme Court, which is why Republicans must be smart, strong, and never let these Crazed Judges turn us into a Third World Country.”
According to the White House, U.S. Border Patrol made just 6,070 arrests in June — a 30% drop from May. On June 28 alone, arrests dropped to 137, a dramatic decline from the peak days of late 2023 when daily encounters exceeded 10,000.
The ruling comes as Trump continues to promote his hardline immigration agenda, including the opening of a controversial new detention center in Florida — dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” — located in the heart of the Everglades.
