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Supreme Court Rejects Trump Bid to Curb Asylum Claims at Border

  • Court issues order in 5-4 vote with chief justice in majority
  • Lower court temporarily barred president from changing rules
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers are seen across barbed wire as Central American migrants gather along the US and Mexico border in Tijuana, Mexico, on Nov. 25, 2018.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers are seen across barbed wire as Central American migrants gather along the US and Mexico border in Tijuana, Mexico, on Nov. 25, 2018.

Photographer: Tomas Ayuso/Bloomberg
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The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to President Donald Trump on a signature issue, refusing to let him start automatically rejecting asylum bids by people who cross the Mexican border illegally.

The justices’ order, on a 5-4 vote with Chief Justice John Roberts in the majority, left in effect a lower court decision that temporarily bars the president from changing the rules for people who claim asylum after entering the country from Mexico. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.