Sacramento, April 11 (RHC)-- A U.S. federal judge in San Francisco has blocked President Donald Trump’s so-called Remain in Mexico policy, which forces asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases make their way through U.S. courts. 

Judge Richard Seeborg ruled that the practice, which went into effect in January, violates existing immigration laws and does not comply with U.S. policy against returning migrants to countries where their “life or freedom would be threatened.”

In a statement, Human Rights First, which represents clients affected by Trump’s policy, said: “As President Trump rids the Department of Homeland Security of top officials in search of even more extreme immigration hardliners, today’s ruling is a reminder that the policies already put in place to dismantle the asylum system are—in many cases—illegal, and will not hold up in court.”