07/06/2020
Law360 (July 6, 2020, 12:53 PM EDT) -- The Ninth Circuit ruled Monday that the Trump administration's policy restricting asylum for migrants who cross through another country on the way to the U.S. is illegal, marking the second court decision to strike down the restrictions in under a week.
The appeals court panel said the policy, which requires non-Mexican migrants seeking asylum at the southwest border to first request protection in Mexico or another country they crossed, "does virtually nothing to ensure that a third country is a 'safe option'" in violation of the federal immigration statute.
The judges also found that the rule is arbitrary and capricious. The panel said the federal government had not considered the effects of the restrictions on migrant children, nor had it sufficiently backed up its claims that Mexico is a safe option for migrants.
The Ninth Circuit's ruling upholds a nationwide injunction issued by a California federal judge last year, though the effect of that injunction remains paused under an order issued by the U.S. Supreme Court. However, the contested asylum policy was halted days ago by a D.C. federal judge in separate litigation.
The case is East Bay Sanctuary Covenant et al. v. William Barr et al., case number 19-16773, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
