New York, July 18 (RHC)-- In the U.S., a coalition of national rights groups filed a lawsuit seeking to block a new Trump order that would bar asylum seekers who pass through another country before reaching the U.S. from applying for asylum. 

The American Civil Liberties Union, (ACLU), the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Center for Constitutional Rights are among those seeking an immediate injunction.  The rule was set to go into effect Tuesday, but didn’t appear to, as it faces legal challenges. 

Lee Gelernt of the ACLU called the new rule “the Trump administration’s most extreme run at an asylum ban yet” and said that it “clearly violates domestic and international law.”  On Tuesday, the U.N. refugee office condemned the plan, saying it puts vulnerable people at increased risk.

A separate suit by two immigrants’ rights groups was filed later Tuesday, arguing the rule violates the Immigration and Nationality Act and disrupts their ability to carry out their work, forcing them to “drastically divert or redesign their programs.”