UNITED STATES—On Wednesday, December 19  U.S. District Judge Emmett Sullivan ordered that the asylum seekers who were deported by the United States government be returned to the United States.

During Wednesday’s ruling against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, Sullivan indicated that recent changes violated federal law.

“The court holds that it has jurisdiction to hear plaintiff’s challenges to the credible fear policies, that it has the authority to order the injunctive relief, and that, with the exception of two policies, the new credible fear policies are arbitrary, capricious, and in violation of the immigration laws.”

President Trump’s policies were designed to ban immigrants who were victims of domestic violence or gang violence from seeking asylum in the United States. The policies were put into place in June 2018 under former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

“The asylum system is being abused to the detriment of the rule of law, sound public policy, and public safety— and to the detriment of people with just claims. Saying a few simple words—claiming a fear of return—is now transforming a straightforward arrest for illegal entry and immediate return into a prolonged legal process, where an alien may be released from custody into the United States and possibly never show up for an immigration hearing. This is a large part of what has been accurately called, “catch and release,”” said Sessions during his ruling in June 2018.

Federal officials indicated they made these changes to prevent fraud within the asylum system though the policy which allowed for speedy deportations that were later challenged.

“That’s because the vast majority of the current asylum claims are not valid.  For the last five years, only 20 percent of claims have been found to be meritorious after a hearing before an Immigration Judge,” said Sessions in in his ruling on June 11, 2018.

“This ruling is a defeat for the Trump administration’s all-out assault on the asylum seekers,“ said Jennifer Chang Newell of ACLU’s, Immigrant’s Rights Project in a statement.