A panel of District of Columbia Court of Appeals judges Monday heard oral arguments from the Trump administration defending the president’s move to end asylum claims at the southern border through an executive order.

Civil rights and immigration advocacy groups sought to make permanent a District of Columbia District Court’s July injunction that found the Trump administration could not block asylum seekers from making asylum claims — a form of protection extended to those fearing persecution.

A separate appeals panel lifted the lower court’s order, permitting the administration to block asylum seekers while the merits of the case were argued.

The Trump administration cited the 212(f) proclamation and claimed that because there is an “invasion” at the southern border, asylum protections

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