President exceeds authority: US federal court blocks Trump's anti-immigration plan

The dispute between Trump and the courts continues. Now a U.S. federal judge is challenging the president, claiming he flouted existing laws and regulations on the day of his inauguration.

A US federal court has dealt a blow to US President Donald Trump's tough anti-immigration stance. Judge Randolph Moss on Wednesday blocked Trump's plans to ban asylum claims for migrants seeking to enter the US via Mexico. He argued that the president overstepped his authority when, on his inauguration day—January 20—he issued a proclamation denying all migrants at the US southern border the opportunity to apply for asylum or other humanitarian protection, overriding existing legal procedures.

In his 128-page opinion, Moss argued that neither federal immigration law nor the U.S. Constitution gave Trump the authority to override existing laws and regulations governing the asylum process, even though ending illegal immigration would pose "enormous challenges."

As one of his first acts in office, Trump declared a state of emergency on the border with Mexico, saying that the US was facing an invasion there.

The US government announced it would appeal. "A local district court judge has no authority to prevent President Trump and the United States from protecting our border from the flood of foreign nationals attempting to enter the country illegally," said presidential spokeswoman Abigail Jackson. "We expect to prevail on appeal."