Supreme Court backs turning asylum seekers away at US border
Why it matters: The 6-3 ruling gives the Trump administration broader power to block claims before migrants step onto U.S. soil.
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled 6-3 that the federal government can turn away asylum seekers at the border before they physically enter the United States, strengthening a key Trump administration immigration tool. Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito said federal asylum protections do not apply because migrants who are stopped at the border have not yet "arrive[d] in" the country under the law. The decision revives an approach first pursued under President Barack Obama and later blocked by lower courts. In dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that contact with Border Patrol agents at legal entry points is effectively the first step in arriving in the United States.