The Daily Fuckup

A federal appeals court on April 24, 2026, blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to cut off asylum access at the southern border, ruling that the White House cannot use a Day 1 proclamation to wipe out a right Congress put into immigration law. The case, RAICES v. Noem, centered on Trump’s proclamation titled "Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion" and the agency guidance that carried it out. The court said the statute does not give the administration authority to suspend asylum in that way.

The panel’s majority rejected the claim that the president could declare an invasion and then hold asylum processing hostage until he decided the emergency was over. In the court’s view, the Immigration and Nationality Act still controls. The law gives noncitizens a statutory path to apply for asylum, and the administration cannot replace that process with a blanket ban based on a proclamation alone. A Trump-appointed judge dissented in part, disagreeing with the majority on the scope of asylum denials.

The ruling is a setback for one of Trump’s signature border policies, but it does not end the fight. The administration can still seek further review, including rehearing or Supreme Court review, and the legal effect of the decision can be delayed if such a request is filed. For now, the court’s decision keeps the asylum restrictions blocked and leaves the government without the authority it claimed to shut the process down at the southern border.