SAN DIEGO (AP) – Dealing a significant blow to a signature Trump administration immigration policy, a U.S. appeals court has ruled that the government can no longer make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico while their cases wind through the immigration courts.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dealt a setback that may prove temporary if the Trump administration appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has consistently sided with the president on immigration and border security policies.

The decision interrupted some court cases. An immigration judge in San Diego delayed a final hearing on a Honduran man’s asylum case after a government attorney couldn’t answer his questions about the effect of ruling.

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