Federal judge blocks key Biden admin asylum rule at core of post-Title 42 strategy

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked a key enforcement tool set in place by the Biden administration to limit crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The rule formed the centerpiece of the administration's strategy to deal with the expiration of the Title 42 public health order in May. It presumes migrants to be ineligible for asylum if they have entered the U.S. illegally and have failed to claim asylum in a country through which they have already traveled. The administration has said it is designed to discourage irregular migration and encourage migrants to use the expanded legal pathways set up, including the use of the controversial CBP One app – which allows migrants to apply for one of the more than 1,400 appointments at a port of entry each day to be paroled into the U.S. Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.

He can be reached at adam.shaw2@fox.com or on Twitter.

That presumption of ineligibility can be challenged if migrants can show exceptional circumstances and officials have rejected comparisons to the Trump-era travel ban. The rule also does not apply to unaccompanied minors. The rule has formed a central cog in the Biden administration’s efforts to tackle a post-Title 42 surge, along with messaging, cooperation with NGOs and Mexico and a stiffening of traditional Title 8 penalties. It has also set up processing centers across Central America, increased refugee admissions, and set up a special parole system for up to 30,000 Cubans, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans and Haitians each month to fly into the U.S.