Today, April 24, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a decision ruling that President Donald Trump’s declaration of an ‘invasion’ at the U.S.-Mexico border was illegal, and the President cannot prevent asylum seekers at the border from following the legal process enacted by Congress.
“We conclude that the INA’s text, structure, and history make clear that in supplying power to suspend entry by Presidential proclamation, Congress did not intend to grant the Executive the expansive removal authority it asserts. The Proclamation and Guidance are thus unlawful to the extent that they circumvent the INA’s removal procedures and cast aside federal laws affording individuals the right to apply and be considered for asylum or withholding of removal protections. Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Plaintiffs. We also affirm the district court’s class certification order, modifying the class definition as clarified by this opinion.”
The Court points out what any fifth grader who has watched School House Rock could tell you, that Congress is the branch of the U.S. Government that makes laws. “Congress enacted the asylum statute, with narrow exceptions specified by statute, to grant all foreign individuals ‘physically present’ in the United States a right to apply for asylum and have their individual applications adjudicated. If the Government wishes to modify this carefully structured and intricate system, it must present those arguments to the only branch of government able to amend the INA: Congress.” See Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, Et Al., v. Mullin, No. 1:25-cv-00306 (D.D.C. April 24, 2026).
Today’s decision upholds a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upholds a July 2025 ruling by District Judge Randolph Moss, in which he argued that the president had overstepped his authority in severely limiting asylum for migrants fleeing danger and persecution.
The one Trump appointed judge on this panel, Judge Justin Walker, dissented stating that he would have allowed migrants to seek other forms of protection, but not asylum. Though there is no legally coherent explanation for why it would be appropriate to ignore statutes enacted by Congress just because the President wants to.
White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, went on Fox News this afternoon to attack the Judges for being out-of-control liberals despite admitting that she had not even read the decision yet, because that is the world we live in now.
The Trump Administration will appeal this decision to a higher court so it is not clear if this will allow for the border to reopen to asylum seekers now, or if it will be stayed pending an appeal.
You can read the full decision at https://media.cadc.uscourts.gov/opinions/docs/2026/04/25-5243-2170245.pdf.