Supreme Court weighs 'turnbacks'
The Supreme Court is hearing a challenge to the Trump-era practice of turning asylum seekers away at ports of entry — a decision that could drastically limit who can file asylum claims at official crossings. Lower courts, including the Ninth Circuit, found parts of the policy unlawful, so a ruling for the government would reshape intake at borders nationwide. (sandiegouniontribune.com)
Noem v. Al Otro Lado, No. 25‑5, is the case captioned in the Supreme Court docket and asks whether a noncitizen stopped on the Mexican side of the U.S.–Mexico border “arrives in the United States” for purposes of 8 U.S.C. §1101 (the INA). (supremecourt.gov) The government’s petition was docketed July 1, 2025, the Court granted review on November 17, 2025, and the case was set for oral argument on March 24, 2026 with the petitioners’ merits brief and joint appendix filed on January 6, 2026 and respondents’ brief filed February 10, 2026. (supremecourt.gov) The litigation track shows a Southern District of California judgment and permanent injunction issued in 2021, a Ninth Circuit panel opinion issued October 23, 2024 that was later amended, and a Ninth Circuit filing dated May 14, 2025 reflecting the amended disposition in case nos. 22‑55988 and 22‑56036. (cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov) The district court certified a class on August 6, 2020 that the filings describe as “all noncitizens who seek or will seek to access the U.S. asylum process by presenting themselves at a Class A POE on the U.S.–Mexico border” and the respondents in the Supreme Court are represented by Al Otro Lado alongside individual asylum seekers with counsel including the American Immigration Council, SPLC, CCR, and Mayer Brown LLP. ( ) Key regulatory context in the record includes the July 16, 2019 interim final rule cited as 84 FR 33829 (the “Asylum Transit/Third‑Country” rule) and the related final rule entries in the Federal Register that respondents argued the government used in tandem with metering practices. (federalregister.gov) Amicus activity in the Supreme Court file includes briefs filed January 13, 2026 by Senator Ted Cruz and by the Federation for American Immigration Reform and filings from faith, human‑rights and former‑official coalitions (including a Feb. 20, 2026 filing by a bipartisan group of former government officials noted by CGRS), and the oral argument was carried live and is summarized on C‑SPAN’s March 24, 2026 coverage. ( )
