Judge strikes down Trump asylum rules for domestic and gang violence victims

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed Justice Department policies that made it harder for people to claim asylum because of domestic violence or gang violence, finding the policies violated existing immigration laws.

Judge Emmet Sullivan found the harsher Justice Department policies "unlawful," and permanently blocked the government "from continuing to apply those policies and from removing plaintiffs who are currently in the United States without first providing credible fear determinations consistent with the immigration laws."

He also ordered the feds "to return to the United States the plaintiffs who were unlawfully deported and to provide them with new credible fear determinations consistent with the immigration laws."

The ruling was hailed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which had challenged DOJ's "expedited removal" policies in court.

"This ruling is a defeat for the Trump administration's all-out assault on the rights of asylum seekers. The government's attempt to obliterate asylum protections is unlawful and inconsistent with our country's longstanding commitment to provide protection to immigrants fleeing for their lives," said Jennifer Chang Newell, managing attorney of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, who argued the case.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.