ICE detains green card holder father with tumor after 30 years in the US - Attorney

Paramjit Singh, a green card holder who immigrated to the United States from India more than 30 years ago, has been in federal custody for over a month after being detained by immigration agents in Chicago on July 30, according to his attorney.

Singh's attorney Luis Angeles said newsrealtime The detention has been "nothing short of horrific" for him and his family.

newsrealtime also reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment via email.

Why It Matters

President Donald Trump Campaigned on mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, specifically targeting those with violent criminal records, and his administration increased immigration enforcement since his return to office in January. However, Many Americans have been critical of his immigration policy. As individuals with misdemeanors, decades-old infractions, or in some cases no criminal records at all have been swept up in the heightened enforcement.

Singh's case highlights the concerns raised by many immigration advocates about the administration's approach to border security and deportations.

What to Know

Singh, a lawful permanent resident who runs a business in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was detained at Chicago O'Hare Airport on July 30 after he returned from a trip to India, his family and attorney told local news station WPTA. His family said he makes this trip several times per year.

Singh has a brain tumor and a heart condition, and was kept inside the airport for five days. His condition deteriorated to the point where he had to be taken to the emergency room, reported the news station.

His family was not notified of the ER visit until they received a bill for his medical stay, Angeles said. newsrealtime.

Angeles said the alleged offense stems from an incident involving the use of a pay phone without payment, which he said is a "minor infraction for which he has already taken full accountability, served his time, and paid his debt to society."

"Efforts to secure his release have been 'exhaustive but frustrating,' " Angeles said.

"We filed for a bond redetermination and successfully won the bond hearing. However, DHS has continued to employ what I would describe as legal—yet arguably unethical—tactics to prolong his detention, despite being fully aware of his severe medical condition, which requires emergency surgery. The government is holding him without justifiable cause, exacerbating his health risks and causing immense distress to his family," he said.

Several green card holders have been detained based on decades-old legal issues. A similar case that garnered national attention was that of Jemmy Jimenez Rosa , a Massachusetts mother who was held for 10 days based on a decades-old marijuana conviction. She was also taken to the hospital while being held at the airport without access to medication.

What People Are Saying

Angels also told newsrealtime : As a lawful permanent resident (green card holder), Mr. Singh should never have been detained in the first place, as he has always followed the rules to the letter. We often hear the mantra of 'follow the rules' to achieve legal status in this country. Well, that's exactly what he did: he entered the United States lawfully, adjusted his status properly, built his American dream through hard work, and has been a significant contributor to his community.

Singh's brother, Charanjit Singh, told WPTA: We're just trying to post the bond, we're just trying to speak to someone, trying to communicate with someone. We're lost.

A Customs and Border Patrol spokesperson previously told newsrealtime : "A green card is a privilege, not a right, and under our nation's laws, our government has the authority to revoke a green card if our laws are broken and abused. Lawful Permanent Residents presenting at a U.S. port of entry with previous criminal convictions may be subject to mandatory detention and/or may be asked to provide additional documentation to be set up for an immigration hearing."

What Happens Next

WPTA reported that Singh's legal team filed an appeal and planned to seek immediate federal court review to challenge DHS's continued detention decision, and that the family aimed to post bond while the federal challenge proceeded.

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Detention of two Italians at 'Alligator Alcatraz' sparks backlash at home

The detention of two Italian nationals at Alligator Alcatraz, The new immigrant detention center in Florida's Everglades is sparking criticism from lawmakers in Italy, who are calling on their country's conservative government to speak out.

Gaetano Mirabella Costa and Fernando Artese are being held in "inhuman and degrading" conditions at the facility, Laura Boldrini, a lawmaker from the opposition Democratic Party, said on social media, pushing for the men to be repatriated. Angelo Bonelli of the Green Europe party said The two Italians had been "locked in cages, without access to a lawyer, deprived of dignity, water and decent food."

Former prime minister Matteo Renzi, now a senator who leads the Italia Viva party, accused Giorgia Meloni's government showed deference to President Donald Trump rather than acting to "defend the rights of an Italian citizen." Meloni, Italy's most right-wing leader in decades, has one of the better relationships with Trump among European leaders. The Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Homeland Security Department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed in an email that the two Italian nationals were being held at the facility. Florida officials and Republican lawmakers who have visited the facility have disputed reports of poor conditions there.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has ramped up arrests in recent months, as Trump seeks to fulfill his campaign promise of mass deportations. The crackdown has prompted concern about civil rights violations and detainees held in substandard conditions .

Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, if you break the law, you will face the consequences," McLaughlin said in an emailed statement. "Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.

According to McLaughlin, Costa overstayed a B2 tourist visa for nearly seven years. Artese entered the United States through the visa waiver program, which allowed a stay of about three months, but he remained in the country for about ten years, she said. DHS stated that both had been arrested on alleged criminal charges but did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on whether either had been convicted of a crime.

The detention facility, nicknamed Alligator Alcatraz by Florida Republicans and the Trump administration, opened July 3 in the state's wetlands and could house thousands of migrants this year, according to officials.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) seized the rarely used Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in South Florida last month for the state to set up what he called a "temporary detention area" with tents for detainees, sleeping pods for guards and generators for power.

Detainees and former guards told The Washington Post Last week, deliveries of drinking and bathing water were inadequate, the tents covering detainees' chain-link cells did not keep out rainwater, and the facility was infested with mosquitoes.

In a lawsuit filed last week, immigrant rights advocates alleged detainees had been blocked from accessing attorneys, according to a news release from the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.

Stephanie Hartman, spokeswoman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, disputed the accounts and said the facility was in "good working order."

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"We Had To Eat Like Animals": Immigrants Face Inhumane Conditions at US Detention Centers, Report Alleges

Inmates at a Miami immigration detention center were shackled with their hands tied behind their backs and made to kneel to eat food from styrofoam plates "like dogs," according to a report published on Monday detailing conditions at three overcrowded south Florida facilities. The report, titled "'You Feel Like Your Life is Over': Abusive Practices at Three Florida Immigration Detention Centres Since January 2025," outlines allegations against the Trump administration regarding its treatment of immigrants. The document highlights the mistreatment at the Krome North Service Processing Centre, Broward Transitional Centre, and the Federal Detention Centre in Miami.

According to the Guardian , the report details how numerous men were confined in a crowded holding cell for extended periods, and were denied lunch until about 7 pm. They were required to eat while remaining in shackles, with their food placed on chairs before them. "We had to eat like animals," one detainee named Pedro said, according to the outlet.

The report alleged that guards' demeaning behavior is widespread across all three facilities. At the Krome North Service Processing Center, female detainees were made to use toilets in full view of men being held there, and were denied access to gender-appropriate care, showers or adequate food.

Due to overcrowding, some inmates claimed that they were held for more than 24 hours in a bus in the parking lot. Men and women were confined together and unshackled only when needed to use the single toilet, which quickly became clogged. "The bus became disgusting. It was the type of toilet in which normally people only urinate, but because we were on the bus for so long, and we were not permitted to leave it, others defecated in the toilet. Because of this, the whole bus smelled strongly of faeces," one man said.

Upon entering the facility, the detainees said that they spent up to 12 days crammed into a cold intake room without bedding or warm clothing, sleeping on concrete flooring. Krome's overcrowding meant every available space was used for holding new arrivals, the report stated. "By the time I left, almost all the visitation rooms were full. A few were so full that men couldn't even sit, all had to stand," said Andrea, a female detainee.

At Broward Transitional Centre, detainees reported insufficient medical and psychological care. Some experienced delayed treatment for injuries and chronic conditions, as well as dismissive or hostile responses from staff, the report said. In one alleged incident, staff turned off surveillance cameras and a "disturbance control team" brutally assaulted detainees who were protesting due to a lack of medical attention for a detainee coughing blood. One detainee even suffered a broken finger.

All three facilities were severely overcrowded, a former detainee said.

Also Read | Fear of US Federal Agents Forces Texas Immigrants to Stay Indoors Even During Medical Crisis

The report stated that the documented abuses reflect inhumane conditions inside federal immigration facilities that have significantly worsened since Trump's January inauguration and his subsequent push to increase detentions and deportations.

"The anti-immigrant escalation and enforcement tactics under the Trump administration are terrorizing communities and tearing families apart, which is especially cruel in the state of Florida, which thrives because of its immigrant communities," said Katie Blankenship, immigration attorney and co-founder of Sanctuary of the South.

She added, 'The rapid, chaotic, and cruel approach to arresting and locking people up is literally deadly and causing a human rights crisis that will plague this state and the entire country for years to come.'

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ICE data shows less than 1% of deportees had murder convictions

President Trump campaigned on a promise to round up the "worst of the worst" offenders among criminals living illegally in the United States. However, CBS News has obtained deportation data indicating that the Trump administration's deportation efforts have ensnared many undocumented immigrants without violent criminal records.

Of the estimated 100,000 people deported between January 1 and June 24 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 70,583 were convicted criminals, according to an ICE document obtained by CBS News. However, the data also shows that most of the documented infractions were traffic or immigration offenses.

The ICE document listed raw data that was broken down by conviction, not by deportee.

Some 2,355 convictions were related to sex offenses, accounting for 1.8% of the total number of criminals who were deported. Another 1,628, or 1.2%, were for sexual assault. The number of homicide convictions totaled 729, or 0.58% of deportees, and the number of convicted kidnappers was 536, or 0.42%.

About 10,738 convictions were for assault, or 15.2% of deportees, the data showed.

ICE's public messaging about its deportation efforts has focused on undocumented immigrants with serious criminal records, highlighting deportees who were convicted of murder, sex offenses, and other violent crimes.

Another stated goal of the Trump administration was to remove those with ties to criminal organizations. The CBS News-obtained document shows that 3,256 of the more than 100,000 people removed, or 3.26%, were known or suspected gang members or terrorists.

In response to a CBS News inquiry, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said ICE has now deported approximately 140,000 undocumented immigrants since Mr. Trump took office. She also added that 70% of those arrested by ICE were "illegal aliens with criminal convictions or have pending criminal charges." McLaughlin declined to detail the nature of the convictions or criminal charges, or provide further specifics.

Back on June 11, six Republican lawmakers who are members of the Congressional Hispanic Conference wrote to ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons to urge the Trump administration to prioritize the detention of violent offenders, convicted criminals, and national security threats. ICE has now responded to that inquiry for the first time with figures of those deported since January 1.

The Republicans who signed the letter include the conference's chair, Rep. Tony Gonzalez of Texas, along with Reps. Monica De La Cruz of Texas, Nicole Malliotakis of New York, David Valadao of California, Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida and Gabe Evans of Colorado.

ICE arrests have soared since Mr. Trump took office, averaging 1,200 per day in the first three weeks of June, according to internal figures previously reported by CBS News . White House adviser Stephen Miller has pushed the agency to aim for 3,000 arrests per day, a more-than-twofold increase that has led to pressure on ICE leadership .

A increasingly large share CBS News previously reported that a large number of people held in ICE detention do not have criminal records. Approximately 40% of the agency's detainees since Mr. Trump took office had criminal convictions of some kind, with 8% of them convicted of violent crimes.

Mr. Trump and top administration officials have said their focus is on arresting and deporting people with serious criminal records.

"The violent criminals in our country are the priority now," Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters last month.

White House "border czar" Tom Homan says the administration's primary focus is on the "worst" offenders, but he has long said any undocumented immigrant could be subject to arrest.

If you're in the country illegally, you are not off the table," Homan said at an event in Texas this week. "We prioritize the worst first. That makes sense. But it doesn't mean you prioritize this group and everyone else is okay.

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Trump administration introduces a strict new ICE policy

AURORA, Colo. ‒ The man walked around the corner of the coral-pink detention center building, shuffling a little to keep his shoes on his feet. They'd taken his shoelaces. And his belt.

The 93-degree temperature bounced off the black asphalt as he walked free for the first time in six weeks, after federal immigration agents in California arrested him during a routine court check-in with his American citizen wife.

A year ago, he might have been one of a dozen men released on a day like this.

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But a few months ago, the releases from the privately run Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center here slowed to maybe five a day.

Now, releases from the approximately 1,200-bed GEO ICE facility have slowed even further as the Trump administration tightens its grip on people accused of living illegally in the United States.

A new policy rolling out nationwide prevents judges from granting bond to most detained migrants. Those hearings often end with a judge releasing the detainee if they agree to post a cash bond, and in some cases, be tracked by a GPS device.

The White House argues that mass migration under former President Joe Biden was legally an "invasion," and it has used both the language and tools of war to close the borders and remove people who thought they had entered the country illegally.

"The Biden administration allowed violent gang members, rapists, and murderers into our country, under the guise of asylum, where they unleashed terror on Americans," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at a July 12 press briefing Under President Trump, we are putting American citizens first.

Immigration court offers limited legal rights

Statistics show that migrants are far less likely to commit crimes than American citizens. And current federal statistics show that fewer than half of detained migrants have criminal records.

But because immigration court is run by the Justice Department and is not an independent judiciary, people within that system aren't entitled to the same protections - including the right to a speedy trial, a public defender if they can't afford their own attorney, or now, a bond hearing. , According to the administration. For detainees, bond often ranges from $5,000 to $20,000, immigration attorneys said.

Migrant-rights advocates say the loss of bond hearings means detainees will increasingly have to fight their deportation cases without legal representation or support and advice from community members. In many cases, detainees are being sent to holding facilities thousands of miles from home, advocates say.

Contesting deportation can take months, and migrant rights groups said they suspect the policy change is intended to pressure migrants into agreeing to be deported even if they have a solid legal case for remaining in the United States.

The Trump administration has not publicly released the policy change; advocates said they first read about it in The Washington Post on July 14 . Others said they learned of the policy change when Department of Justice attorneys read parts of it to judges during bond hearings.

The Trump administration's decision to deny bond hearings to detained immigrants is a cruel and calculated escalation of its mass detention agenda, one that prioritizes incarceration over due process and funnels human beings into for-profit prison corporations," said Karen Orona, communications manager at the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition. "This move eliminates a lifeline for thousands of immigrants, stripping away their right to reunite with families, gather evidence, and fairly fight their cases.

Detention releases slowing

Out of all the people detained at the facility, only one man was released on July 15. And like every person released, a volunteer team from the nonprofit Casa de Paz met him on the street outside. They offered him a ride, a cell phone call, food.

Andrea Loya, executive director of the nonprofit, said that Casa volunteers have seen the Trump administration's tough approach unfold as they speak with those who are released. Like other migrant rights advocates, Loya said she is frustrated that private prison companies with close ties to the White House benefit financially from the new policy.

"It does not surprise me that this is the route we're headed down," she said. "Now what we can expect is to see almost no releases."

ICE previously lacked the detention space to hold every person accused of crossing the border outside of official ports of entry, which totaled 2.1 million "encounters" in 2024. The new July 4 federal spending bill provides ICE with funding for 80,000 new detention beds, allowing it to detain up to 100,000 people at any given time, in addition to funding an extra 10,000 ICE agents to make arrests.

Because historically there hasn't been enough dental space to hold every person accused of immigration violations, millions of people over the years have been released into the community after a bond hearing in which an immigration judge considered the likelihood of them returning for their next court date. They are then free to live their lives and work - legally or not - while their deportation cases remain pending, which can take years.

According ICE's 2024 annual report , there were more than 7.6 million people on what it calls the "non-detained" docket ‒ people accused of violating immigration law but considered not enough of a threat to keep locked up. The agency had been attaching GPS monitors to detainees that judges considered a low risk of violence but a higher risk of failing to return to court.

Detention is not just cruel but is unnecessary

Each detention costs taxpayers $152 per person every day, compared to $4.20 a day for GPS tracking. , ICE data shows.

According to the incarceration-rights group Vera Institute of Justice , 92% of people ordered to appear for immigration court hearings do so.

We know that detention is not just cruel but is unnecessary," said Elizabeth Kenney, associate director of Vera. "The government's justification of detention is just not supported by research or even their own data.

Like many migrant rights advocates, Kenney said she has not yet seen the specific policy.

In Seattle, attorney Tahmina Watson of Watson Immigration Law said the policy - the specifics of which she had also not seen - appeared to be part of ongoing administration efforts to limit due process for anyone accused of immigration violations.

They have created a system in which they can detain people longer and longer," said Watson. "Effectively this means that people who have potential pathways to legality are being held indefinitely. The whole notion is to put people into detention. And I don’t know where that’s going to end.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump administration introduces a strict new ICE policy

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Immigration operation at California cannabis farms leads to clash between federal agents and protesters

Protesters clashed with federal authorities on Thursday during an immigration operation north of Los Angeles at a marijuana farm allegedly employing illegal immigrants .

Multiple agents arrived at the Glass House Farms, a state-licensed cannabis facility which is considered illegal under federal law, in Camarillo. Federal authorities had a warrant for illegal employees, Fox News has learned.

Another raid also occurred at another Glass House Farm in Carpinteria.

ICE OFFICERS ATTACKED DURING RAID THAT CAPTURED 70 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AT MEAT PLANT: DHS

People were seen confronting the agents, who used tear gas and smoke bombs. Federal personnel used gas to push back protesters who arrived on the scene after hearing about a raid.

Military helicopters were also seen flying low over the fields, a maneuver generally used to flush out people hiding.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

It is becoming increasingly apparent that the actions taken by ICE are bold and aggressive, demonstrating insensitivity towards the direct impact on our community," said Luis Mc Arthur, mayor of nearby Oxnard, in a social media post. "These actions are causing unnecessary distress and harm. I remain committed to working alongside our Attorney General and the Governor’s office to explore potential legal avenues to address these activities.

Footage captured by the news outlet showed several people being detained.

FEDERAL AGENTS CONDUCT IMMIGRATION RAID IN LOS ANGELES DESPITE FIERCE OPPOSITION FROM DEMOCRAT MAYOR

Four people were transported to the hospital, the Ventura County Fire Department said. Three additional people were treated at the scene without being transported, Fox Los Angeles reported.

U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Calif., said he went to the scene of the raid in Carpinteria, saying 50 ICE agents arrived at the farm.

"This is deplorable. This should not be happening on our soil," he said in a video message. "Individuals dressed like military personnel on our soil. We don't do that in America."

"This was overkill. This was ridiculous. This was a bunch of crap," he added.

Thursday's raid is one of many that have occurred in Southern California, much to the anger of local and state Democratic officials.

Earlier this week, immigration authorities were in MacArthur Park in Los Angeles conducting a raid. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the operation and the Trump administration for targeting illegal immigrants for deportation.

Newsom criticized Thursday's raid and President Donald Trump on X.

Kids running from tear gas, crying on the phone because their mother was just taken from the fields," the governor wrote in a post accompanied by a video showing people running to avoid tear gas deployed by authorities. "Trump calls me 'Newscum' — but he's the real scum.

In another post, Newsom said White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, the architect of the administration's strict approach to illegal immigration, was running the White House.

"Instead of supporting the businesses and workers that drive our economy and way of life, Stephen Miller’s tactics evoke chaos, fear and terror within our communities at every turn," he wrote. "At Miller’s direction, Trump’s agents continue to detain U.S. citizens and racially profile Americans, ripping families apart and disappearing parents and workers into cruel federal detention centers to meet their self-imposed arrest quotas."

Bass has demanded the federal government end such operations in the city.

Los Angeles and eight other cities have sued the Trump administration, calling the tactics used by federal agents "unconstitutional," arguing that they are being used to instill fear rather than to protect the public.

Original article source: Immigration operation at California cannabis farms leads to clash between federal agents and protesters

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UK shuts Afghan resettlement schemes – what it means for small boat crossings

The UK has abruptly closed two schemes designed to resettle Afghans who fled their homes after The Taliban seized power in 2021. .

The programme allowed Afghans who had worked with the British forces or were otherwise particularly vulnerable to the Taliban to apply for a visa to live in the UK.

While the number of Afghans applying for the programme had decreased over time, it was still active, with nearly 7,000 people resettled under the schemes in the year ending March 2025.

The schemes are no longer open to new applications, but those who had already submitted applications will still be processed.

The closure has triggered fears that, without an official route to resettlement, more Afghans will now turn to small boat crossings to try to reach the UK.

As small boat crossings soar to record levels, what do experts think?

Unlikely to see increase in small boats

Unlike the Ukrainian resettlement scheme, the Afghan programs only applied to specific groups and not the wider population.

This meant that Afghans who were not eligible under the UK's program still had to seek asylum like other nationalities, and they continued to cross on small boats throughout the duration of the program, whereas Ukrainians have not.

In the year ending March 2025, Afghans were the most common nationality among small boat arrivals. , accounting for 16 percent of all those arriving.

The number of Afghans crossing the Channel peaked in 2022, also when the scheme was open, with 9,100 people making the journey.

Mihnea Cuibus, a researcher at the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory, said a surge in the number of small boat arrivals was “fairly unlikely” because these were “very different groups”.

"There were always large numbers coming in the last few years, and the Afghan scheme, the safe and legal route, didn't really change much of that," he said.

“However, those numbers were lower than what we saw for resettlement last year, when we had around 7,000 people coming in for the schemes and we had a little over 5,000 people coming in small boats.”

The big difference was in gender distribution; if you look at the Afghan program, about half of the resettled Afghans were women, whereas looking at small boat arrivals, around 95 percent of Afghan small boat arrivals are men.

That's one effect of the closure of the scheme; it's no longer a route for Afghan women into the country.

"Safe and legal routes can prevent people from entering the country irregularly, but only if they are sufficiently large," he added.

In the case of the Afghan schemes, these were never really large enough compared to the overall demand for settlement from Afghanistan – if you look at the overall Afghan population of refugees and people who are internally displaced, that's well into the millions.

Possible small rise in crossings as Afghans forced back

Jon Feantonby, chief analyst at the Refugee Council, said there could be a small increase in small boat crossings, but the impact was difficult to determine.

Read Next: How Deliveroo and Just Eat could be forced to police illegal e-bikes in real time

"We know from the UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR, that in terms of the people that they think are in need of resettlement to somewhere like the UK, Afghans are the highest nationality at the moment," he said.

There has always been a much greater need for safety than could be met by those schemes.

Feantonby said a possible increase in small boats depended on what happened within Afghanistan itself and the neighboring countries to which many Afghans have fled.

He added: "What we've seen in recent weeks is the news that Afghans who have been in neighboring countries are being pushed back to Afghanistan, and that is either going to put people at risk or force people to take onward journeys away from the region."

Smugglers' business model fueled

Aid workers in Calais warned that the scheme shutting down would fuel people smugglers who organise Channel crossings.

Steve Smith, chief executive of Care4Calais, said that the closure was "completely counterproductive if the UK Government's goal is to end Channel crossings."

“Closing safe routes fuels the business model of smuggling gangs as it leaves people fleeing persecution, like Afghans, with no other option than danger – crossing through hostile countries, relying on smugglers, and risking their lives at sea,” he said.

We need new safe routes to be created, not existing ones to be closed.

The Government was approached for comment.

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Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at southern border, saying he exceeded authority

A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump's order suspending asylum access at the U.S.-Mexico border .

On day one, Trump declared through an executive order the situation at the southern border Constitutes what he called an invasion of America. The president said he was "suspending the physical entry" of migrants and their ability to seek asylum until he decides it is over.

Federal District Judge Randolph Moss has now blocked that order, writing, "the President cannot adopt an alternative immigration system, which supplants the statutes that Congress has enacted."

Moss added that neither the Constitution nor immigration law provides the president with "an extra-statutory, extra-regulatory regime for repatriating or removing individuals from the United States, without an opportunity to apply for asylum" or other humanitarian protections.

The order will take effect on July 16, giving the Trump administration two weeks to appeal.

American Civil Liberties Union attorney Lee Gelernt, who argued the merits of the case, called Moss's ruling a "hugely important decision."

"Not only will it save the lives of families fleeing grave danger, it reaffirms that the president cannot ignore the laws Congress has passed and the most basic premise of our country’s separation of powers," Gelernt said in a statement.

The Homeland Security Department did not immediately respond to a request, but an appeal is likely. The president and his aides have repeatedly attacked court rulings that undermine his policies as judicial overreach.

The ruling comes after illegal border crossings have plummeted. The White House said Wednesday that Border Patrol made 6,070 arrests in June, down 30 percent from May. On June 28, the Border Patrol made only 137 arrests, a sharp contrast to late 2023, when arrests topped 10,000 on the busiest days.

Arrests dropped sharply when Mexican officials increased enforcement within its own borders in December 2023 and again when then-President Joe Biden introduced severe asylum restrictions in June 2024. They plunged more after Trump became president in January, deploying thousands of troops to the border under declaration of a national emergency.

Trump and his allies say the asylum system has been abused. They argue that it draws people who know it will take years to adjudicate their claims in the country's backlogged immigration courts, during which they can work and live in America.

But supporters argue the right to seek asylum is guaranteed in federal law and international commitments — even for those who cross the border illegally. They say asylum is a vital protection for people fleeing persecution — a protection guaranteed by Congress that even the president doesn’t have the authority to ignore.

People seeking asylum must demonstrate a fear of persecution based on a fairly narrow set of grounds: race, religion, nationality, or membership in a particular social or political group.

In the executive order, Trump argued that the Immigration and Nationality Act gives presidents the authority to suspend the entry of any group they find "detrimental to the interests of the United States."

Groups that work with immigrants — the Arizona-based Florence Project, the Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center based in El Paso, Texas, and the Texas-based RAICES — filed the lawsuit against the government, arguing that the president was wrong to equate migrants coming to the southern border with an invasion.

They also argued Trump's proclamation amounted to the president unilaterally overriding "...the immigration laws Congress enacted for the protection of people who face persecution or torture if removed from the United States."

But the government argued that because both foreign policy and immigration enforcement fall under the executive branch of government, it was entirely under the president's authority to declare an invasion.

"The determination that the United States is facing an invasion is an unreviewable political question," the government wrote in one argument.

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