Tuesday evening, a federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration can require non-Mexican nationals to wait in Mexico while their immigration claims are resolved.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit cited different reasons for permitting the “remain in Mexico” initiative to move forward after a lower court blocked it last month. The appeals court allowed the policy to continue only on a temporary basis, while the court considers broader issues in the case.
The ruling represents a victory for President Donald Trump, whose immigration policies have faced constant legal challenges. A federal judge in late November halted a separate Trump attempt to bar migrants from seeking asylum if they cross the border between ports of entry.
Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain, a Reagan appointee Politico wants you to know, ruled that the administration was likely to prevail against the legal challenges made to the policy. He also ruled that Homeland Security would be harmed if one of their enforcement tools were restricted.
“DHS is likely to suffer irreparable harm absent a stay because the preliminary injunction takes off the table one of the few congressionally authorized measures available to process the approximately 2,000 migrants who are currently arriving at the nation’s southern border on a daily basis,” the judge wrote.
The other two judges on the panel backed the policy but had questions. “The government is wrong,” Judge William Fletcher, the Clinton appointee, wrote. “Not just arguably wrong, but clearly and flagrantly wrong.”
A San Francisco-based judge initially blocked the “remain” policy in April. The Trump administration immediately appealed the decision.
“Aliens trying to game the system to get into our country illegally will no longer be able to disappear into the United States,” Nielsen said in a written statement at the time.
Image from Getty Images.