The US Supreme Court has given the Trump administration a green light to block asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border, in a decision that fundamentally reshapes the US asylum system. The 6-3 ruling allows the administration to revive its so-called turn-back or 'metering' policy, enabling federal agents at the border to stop migrants from physically setting foot on US soil, where federal law guarantees them the right to claim asylum and protection from persecution.
Key Legal Questions
Because US immigration law entitles migrants arriving in the US to seek asylum, the Supreme Court case hinged on what exactly it means to 'arrive in'. In Justice Samuel Alito's opinion, he wrote: 'In ordinary speech, no one would say that a person 'arrives in' a place … before the person enters that place.' Justice Sonia Sotomayor pushed back strongly in her dissent: 'The court's illogical interpretation is driven almost entirely by a fixation on a single word: 'in'. Words, however, must be read in context and with attention to how they fit into the statute as a whole.'
Reactions and Impact
Human rights advocates have said that the court's decision allows the Trump administration to essentially invalidate international and US asylum laws, which require government officials to inspect people arriving at ports of entry and ensure that they are not being turned back to dangerous conditions. The vote was 6-3, with Justices Samuel Alito, John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett concurring. Justices Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Sonia Sotomayor dissented, with the latter penning a biting 35-page dissent – notably almost twice as long as the Alito majority opinion.
Other Rulings and Developments
In another boost to Donald Trump's hardline crackdown on immigrants, the Supreme Court also ruled in favor of the Trump administration's bid to strip temporary protected status (TPS) from hundreds of thousands of Haitians and Syrians who were legally in the US and protected from deportation. Additionally, the court struck down a restrictive gun law in Hawaii that bans people from carrying guns in certain public spaces and on private property without the owner's permission.
White House Funding Request
The White House has requested Congress approve $87.6bn in new funding, much of which would go towards the costs of Donald Trump's war with Iran. A top Democrat signaled the party will not support paying for an unpopular conflict that lawmakers never authorized.
Other Notable Stories
New evidence has emerged that Robert F Kennedy Jr was on a vaccine-related 'mission' when he visited Samoa ahead of a deadly measles outbreak in 2019, raising questions about whether he lied to the Senate. A senior National Park Service official said a liner along the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool was 'cut with a sharp knife or razor,' repeating Trump's claims of vandalism. Senate Republicans rejected a war powers resolution after Trump pressured them. California voters will decide in November whether billionaires should pay a one-time 5% tax. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the former Monsanto company, potentially blocking thousands of Roundup cancer lawsuits. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis boasted of deporting 21,000 people from 'Alligator Alcatraz.' The Pentagon reinstated flu vaccination requirements for recruits. Senator Ron Wyden accused HHS of preparing to deport over 500 unaccompanied migrant children.
