Washington DC - Immigrants' rights advocates are fighting back against president Donald Trump's attempts to shut down asylum at the border in a new lawsuit.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), National Immigrant Justice Center, Texas Civil Rights Project, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, ACLU of the District of Columbia, and ACLU of Texas are all taking legal action in a bid to stop Trump's 212(f) proclamation.

The order – issued on the Republican president's first day back in the White House – claims the US is facing an immigrant "invasion" as a pretense for shutting down the border to people seeking asylum.

The new lawsuit counters that "immigration – even at elevated levels – is not an 'invasion.'"

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Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Customs and Border Protection, and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are among the defendants named in the suit.

It was filed on behalf of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), and the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project.

"This is an unprecedented power grab that will put countless lives in danger," Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said of the Trump proclamation in a press release. "No president has the authority to unilaterally override the protections Congress has afforded those fleeing danger."

Jennifer Babaie, director of advocacy and legal services of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, added: "Once again, the Trump administration wants to eliminate the ability of families to seek safety in our country in the form of asylum, a legal pathway."

"Spreading falsehoods about an 'invasion' at our border only fuels fear, aiming to dismantle the entire asylum process and weaponize our immigration laws."