Federal Appeals Court Overturns Trump Asylum Policy

In a blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to tighten the immigration system, the U.S. appeals court in Washington overturned a policy that made it harder for people fleeing persecution to receive asylum.

The court said on Friday that the U.S. government could not make it a requirement for asylum seekers to demonstrate they are fleeing harmful circumstances that their home country either “condoned” or was completely helpless to prevent.

In cases where people are fleeing persecution from someone other than the government, the U.S. had historically used a less demanding standard, requiring asylum seekers to show that their home country was merely “unwilling or unable” to stop the harm.

Other lawsuits have contested the application of the Trump administration’s policies in specific asylum cases, but the appeals court’s decision was the first to strike at the policies themselves.

“The court rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to obliterate asylum protections,” said Cody Wofsy, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who argued the case. “This ruling is a major defeat for the administration’s assault on asylum rights and the laws.”

The appeals court decision upheld the ruling of a district judge who had also overturned a second U.S. policy denying asylum to immigrants fleeing domestic or gang violence. The appeals court vacated that aspect of the district judge’s ruling, saying the language of the administration’s policy on domestic and gang violence fell short of creating a systemic ban on granting asylum to people in that situation.

The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.