A federal judge in the District of Columbia barred the Trump administration Wednesday from expelling asylum seekers from the United States, dealing a major blow to the administration’s efforts to curtail crossings at the U.S. southern border. In a 128-page decision, U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss invalidated a proclamation that President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office that declared an “invasion” on the border and invoked emergency presidential powers to deport migrants without allowing them to apply for asylum. Migrants and advocacy groups sued in February, saying federal law allows people to apply for the humanitarian protection no matter how they entered the United States.

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Moss stayed his ruling for 14 days pending a likely appeal from the Trump administration. But he wrote that the executive branch cannot create an “alternative immigration system” that tramples on existing federal law.

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“The Court recognizes that the Executive Branch faces enormous challenges in preventing and deterring unlawful entry into the United States and in adjudicating the overwhelming backlog of asylum claims of those who have entered the country,” Moss wrote. But he added that the Immigration and Nationality Act “provides the sole and exclusive means for removing people already present in the country.”

Depending on the appeal, the ruling could reopen asylum processing on the southern border and enable migrants to cross into the United States in hopes of seeking refuge. Border crossings have remained low under the Trump administration after officials implemented these and other policies.

Under the Biden administration, millions of people seeking protection arrived at the southern border, leading to record apprehensions, with many fleeing authoritarian regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba. Trump’s first term was also marked by immigration surges, despite multiple efforts to limit asylum applications, many of which were knocked down by the courts.

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“The importance of restoring asylum in the United States cannot be overstated, not only for the people whose lives are in danger but for our standing in the world,” said Lee Gelernt, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union who argued the case. “The decision also sends a message that the President cannot simply ignore laws Congress has passed.”