San Francisco, July 24 (RHC)-- A U.S. federal court in California has blocked President Trump’s ban on most asylum seekers seeking refuge at the U.S.-Mexico border.  The preliminary injunction came just hours after a federal judge in Washington, D.C., let the rule stand in a separate challenge.

Following the ruling in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the Trump administration will be required to continue accepting asylum claims, at least for now.  Trump’s rule seeks to bar anyone who passes through a third country from exercising their right under international law to seek asylum in the U.S., including at the southern border with Mexico.

Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, who helped challenge Trump’s asylum policy, said: “The court correctly decided that decades of U.S. asylum law prevent this administration from attempting to deny wholesale, asylum protections through this arbitrary and hasty regulation. This application of the law will also save lives of vulnerable refugees fleeing for their lives and safety.”