Rights Group Sues Over Biden Rule Curbing Asylum at U.S.-Mexico Border

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Reuters) – Immigration advocates representing the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on Thursday just minutes before a U.S. rule restricting asylum access at the U.S. Mexico border was to go into effect.

The groups filed a motion before a federal court in California to reopen a lawsuit that was already open over restrictions similar to those implemented by the Republican former president Donald Trump. They also updated the case so as to include the new regulation announced by Democratic President Joe Biden.

The groups claimed that the Biden regulation "dramatically restricts the availability and right to asylum in the United States", and mirrors similar Trump-era policies that were blocked in court.

Biden's plan to combat a possible increase in illegal immigration is the strict new asylum regulation. COVID-19 restrictions (also known as Title 42) ended on Thursday at midnight.

Some people were concerned that Biden's stricter new regulations would discourage migrants from crossing the border.