A US court Friday suspended its decision to block a key asylum policy of Donald Trump's administration which has forced many applicants to wait in Mexico while their claims are processed, allowing border officials to continue enforcing the White House directive.
The policy -- known as "Remain in Mexico" and part of the US president's signature crackdown on migration -- has been used to send tens of thousands of asylum seekers from Central America back to Mexico, but was placed on hold by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Friday.
The court initially ruled the policy "is invalid in its entirety" under US law concerning migrant rights and UN refugee protocols, and should be blocked "in its entirety."
Earlier, the White House had blasted the block, warning it could "flood the nation's immigration system" and "present unchecked coronavirus entry risk."
Earlier, a Department of Justice spokesman said the Trump administration had "acted faithfully" and slammed the court's ruling which "highlights the consequences and impropriety of nationwide injunctions."
The White House said it was "considering all available legal options to seek further review of this decision," and called the asylum policy "hugely successful."
But Refugee International warned Friday that the asylum policy "means the difference between life and death" for migrants "cruelly pushed into harm and deprivation in Mexico."
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