Immigration advocacy groups are suing the Trump administration, saying they are illegally shutting down asylum access at the southern border and putting people fleeing war and persecution in harm’s way.

A leading U.S. civil rights group accused President Donald Trump on Monday of violating U.S. laws and international treaties with his sweeping ban on asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The lawsuit, presented in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges Trump's effort to unilaterally ban access to asylum is "unlawful as it is unprecedented" because it overrides Congress' authority. The suit is joined by three immigrant rights groups.