BORDER/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A U.S. judge in San Francisco has extended his decision blocking the Trump administration from enforcing a ban on asylum for any immigrants who illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Judge Jon Tigar ruled Wednesday to keep the ban on hold pending the outcome of a lawsuit challenging it. The case could take months to resolve. He had previously blocked the ban for 30 days. Tigar said the ban conflicts with an immigration law that says immigrants can apply for asylum regardless of how they enter the U.S. At issue is President Donald Trump’s Nov. 9 proclamation that barred anyone who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border between official ports of entry from seeking asylum. The administration argued that caravans of migrants approaching the southern border made the new restrictions immediately necessary.”
–Associated Press, “The Latest: Judge Extends Block on Trump Asylum Ban,” The New York Times online, December 19, 2018