Key Trump asylum policies are tested in appeals court

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Attorneys for the Trump administration and the American Civil Liberties Union have dueled before a federal appeals court on two major policies that rewrite rules for seeking and getting asylum.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday in San Francisco on a policy to make asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their cases wind through U.S. immigration courts. More than 42,000 people have been returned to Mexico since January, when the policy officially known as “Migrant Protection Protocols” took effect.

Another policy would deny asylum to anyone who crosses the border illegally from Mexico. The Supreme Court declined to lift an order blocking it from taking effect last year, sparking an extraordinary spat between President Donald Trump and Chief Justice John Roberts.