US appeals court allows Biden's asylum 'ban' at southern border to remain

A de facto ban on claiming asylum at the US southern border implemented in May in an effort to stem a feared influx of migrants can stay in place for now, a court has said.

The decision by the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday grants a temporary reprieve from a lower court decision that had found the policy illegal and ordered the government to end its use by this coming Monday.

The government had gone quickly to the appeals court asking for the rule to be allowed to remain in use while the larger court battles surrounding its legality play out.

The three-judge panel ruled 2-1 in favour of the government's request.

They also said they would expedite the hearing for the appeal with both sides expected to send in their arguments to the court by mid-September and a hearing to be held at an unspecified date, meaning a relatively fast timeline to review the case.

A rule change earlier this year made it all but impossible for most migrants to lodge an asylum claim when crossing by land from Mexico.

President Joe Biden's administration said claims would still be accepted, but only if made in a migrant's home country or in a country they had passed through on their way to the United States.

The change came as Washington sought to untangle years of using Title 42, a public health measure that effectively prevented any undocumented person from entering the country, which was implemented as Covid-19 swept the world.

Critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) charged the provision was illegal, and went to court to seek its reversal.

Burden of proof, long waits

The administration had fretted that up to 200,000 people would try to cross into the country every month once Covid rules lapsed.

Under the new provisions, migrants at the border have to use a smartphone app to obtain an interview appointment, which can take weeks or months.

Those elsewhere have to request asylum from their home country or at special centres in countries they pass through.

People who cross the border without going through the process automatically lose the chance to claim asylum.

The policy raised the burden of proof for the applicants and left them facing long waits for rulings.

It however did create exceptions for unaccompanied children crossing the border, and for citizens of certain countries like Haiti and Ukraine offered a separate formal parole process.

The change had a quick impact: the number of border patrol interdictions or "encounters" with migrants fell from 212,000 in April to 145,000 in June, according to Customs and Border Protection figures.