US Supreme Court rejects Trump request for asylum ban on illegal migrants

The US Supreme Court has rejected a request from the Donald Trump administration to begin enforcing a ban on asylum for immigrants who illegally cross the US-Mexico border.

The narrow 5-4 ruling on Friday, with Chief Justice John Roberts siding with his four more liberal colleagues, left in place lower court rulings that blocked a proclamation by President Donald Trump in November denying asylum to those entering the country from Mexico, without going through official border crossings, Xinhua reported.

Trump has said the proclamation was in response to caravans of Central American migrants making their way to the US border through Mexico.

The administration has said the rule sought to crack down what it called "meritless asylum claims from aliens who place a tremendous burden on our resources".

Critics have seen the move as unlawful and needlessly cruel to asylum seekers.