The Supreme Court appears open to letting the Trump administration block asylum seekers at the southern U.S. border with Mexico.
If the court rules in favor of the White House, it would allow President Donald Trump to bring back a 2016 policy that let the government stop migrants from entering the U.S. — and by extension deny them asylum. The policy began under President Barack Obama and was expanded under Trump during his first term before it was repealed by President Joe Biden in 2021.
Federal law allows noncitizens who set foot in the U.S. to apply for asylum. At issue in this case is a dispute over what it means for someone to “arrive” in the country.