Judge Blocks Asylum Rules Changes

Phoenix (AP) – A U.S. judge has blocked the Trump administration’s most sweeping set of asylum rules changes less than two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office. The changes had been set to take effect Monday. The judge’s ruling has limited immediate impact because the government has largely suspended all asylum at the U.S.- Mexico border during the coronavirus pandemic. Still, leaving the new restrictions in place would have made it significantly more difficult for asylum-seekers once the pandemic-related measures are lifted. The Trump administration argued the measures were an appropriate response to a system rife with abuse, but the judge decided the acting Homeland Security secretary lacks authority to impose sweeping rules changes.