Judge restores nationwide injunction on Trump plan to block asylum-seekers

A federal judge in California on Monday again blocked the Trump administration from turning away asylum seekers who pass through another country on the way to the U.S.-Mexico border, reinstating his nationwide injunction after the Ninth Circuit narrowed it to apply only within that circuit.

U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar on Monday ruled that an injunction blocking the administration’s policy from taking effect should apply nationwide.

In July, Tigar blocked the policy after a lawsuit by groups that help asylum seekers.

But in August, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals limited the impact of Tigar’s injunction to states within the area overseen by the appeals court. That meant the policy was blocked in the border states of California and Arizona, but not in New Mexico or Texas.

The administration wants to prevent most migrants from seeking asylum in the United States if they pass through another country first.