Judge blocks Trump policy forcing asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico

A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration's policy requiring Central American asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases are decided in the U.S., ruling that Department of Homeland Security overstepped its legal authority.

That policy was one of the last attempts by outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to gain control of the southern border, which has seen such an increase in illegal crossings that she resigned from her post over the weekend.

U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco ordered the Trump administration to allow the plaintiffs in the case — 11 migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras — to enter the U.S. within two days. He issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that prevents the administration from forcing future asylum-seekers back into Mexico. The order goes into effect on Friday.