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Judge blocks asylum policy at US-Mexico border

The policy would prevent most migrants from seeking asylum in the U.S. if they passed through another country first.
Credit: AP
Protestors hold signs that read " Asylum is a Right" outside of the San Francisco Federal Courthouse on Wednesday, July 24, 2019 in San Francisco, Calif. A federal judge said Wednesday that the Trump administration can enforce its new restrictions on asylum for people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border while lawsuits challenging the policy play out. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing new asylum restrictions for people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

Wednesday's ruling by U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco came hours after a judge in Washington decided to let the rules stand while lawsuits played out in court.

The policy would prevent most migrants from seeking asylum in the U.S. if they passed through another country first.

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It targets tens of thousands of Central Americans who cross Mexico every month to try to enter the U.S. It also would affect asylum seekers from Africa, Asia and South America who arrive regularly at the southern border.

Legal groups argued the proposal was barred by federal law establishing how people can seek asylum.

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