Supreme Court agrees to review Trump asylum ban at southern border

The Supreme Court agreed Friday to consider President Donald Trump's executive order banning asylum applications at the southern border, a pillar of his immigration crackdown. The Trump administration seeks to overturn lower court rulings that found the ban illegal.

Federal law grants people the right to seek asylum regardless of how they entered the U.S., but the executive branch decides whether asylum is granted. The administration argues it can categorically deny asylum to migrants covered by the order and should not accept applications destined for rejection, citing long processing times that contributed to border influxes.

The ACLU and National Immigrant Justice Center counter that border crossings were already declining before Trump took office and that the order illegally strips individuals of their right to apply. The ban has remained in effect during litigation.