"The ban conflicts with an immigration law that says immigrants can apply for asylum regardless of how they enter the U.S., Tigar said.
In the first court ruling on the issue, Tigar said on Nov. 19 that U.S. law allows immigrants to request asylum regardless of whether they entered the country legally."
We've been saying this for the entirety of the Obama reign. Executive Orders cannot change established Law, only how the Federal .gov interprets that Law.
There are not many ways to re-interpret "they can apply for asylum regardless of how they entered the U.S.", so, yeah, I can see why the S.C. rejected the Admin's plea.
However, does that Law also state how these asylum seekers are to be treated while they are seeking asylum? If they enter illegally, and history has shown many 'disappear' before their trial, they should be held in a secure facility pending the outcome. If the outcome is against them, then they get deported. If the outcome is for them, they can receive a green-card and be released into gen-pop.