UPDATE 1-U.S. judge upholds Trump rule banning most asylum cases at border -Washington Post

A U.S. district judge in Washington on Wednesday declined to block a new rule designed to bar almost all immigrants from applying for asylum at the country's southern border, handing a victory to U.S. President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration, the Washington Post reported.

Judge Timothy Kelly in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied a temporary restraining order that would have blocked a rule the Trump administration implemented on July 16 that requires asylum-seekers to first pursue safe haven in a third country through which they had traveled on their way to the United States, the Post reported. Oral arguments took place on Monday.

The ruling was issued in a lawsuit filed by the Capital Area Immigrants' Rights Coalition. The suit is similar to an ACLU-led action filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District California, also challenging the Trump administration rule. That case is due for a hearing on Wednesday.

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