Border Agents Ordered to Halt Deportations After Court Ruling Which Limits Trump's Asylum Ban: Report

U.S. border officials have been ordered to stop deporting migrants under President Donald Trump's ban on asylum claims, following a federal court ruling that found the measure cannot be used to completely suspend legal protections for asylum seekers.

Two Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials told CBS News that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have been directed to halt deportations under Trump's proclamation and to process migrants according to established U.S. immigration laws.

The ruling, passed down by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Friday, stems from a January 2025 proclamation by Trump issued hours after his return to the White House, which authorized border agents to summarily deport migrants crossing illegally without allowing them to apply for asylum — a right protected under U.S. law for decades.

As a result, CBP has been instructed to resume processing migrants using expedited removal procedures, which allow for quick deportations but preserve the right to apply for asylum if credible fear is established, as CBS News points out. Previously, many migrants had been swiftly expelled to Mexico, their home countries, or third countries under Trump's order, a practice internally referred to as "212(f) repatriations."

The lawsuit challenging the ban was originally filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other groups, which criticized the Trump-era policy as placing vulnerable migrants at risk. Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended the administration's efforts on Friday through a statement shared with CBS News:

"The President secured the border in record time at an unprecedented level by using every available legal tool provided by Congress. A rogue district judge took those tools away, threatening the safety and security of Americans and ignoring a Supreme Court decision issued only days earlier admonishing district courts for granting nationwide injunctions. The Trump Administration is committed to restoring integrity to our immigration system and to our justice system"

In the upcoming days the Justice Department is expected to seek Supreme Court review of Friday's ruling to attempt reinstating Trump's asylum ban. Meanwhile, expedited legal proceedings have been scheduled to determine the case's merits by late September.