(AFP) – The US Supreme Court agreed on Friday to rule on whether the Trump administration can bar migrants who illegally cross the US-Mexico border from presenting asylum claims. A district court judge ruled last year that President Donald Trump exceeded his legal authority by broadly banning migrants who illegally crossed the southern border from seeking asylum. An appeals court upheld the ruling as a violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act, prompting the Trump administration to take the case to the Supreme Court.
Lee Gelernt, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the groups which brought the case, welcomed the opportunity to present arguments to the Supreme Court. “The president does not have the right to unilaterally override the protections Congress has afforded those fleeing danger,” Gelernt said in a statement. “The courts are right to reject this unprecedented power grab that would put countless lives in danger. We look forward to making our case before the Supreme Court.”
The asylum case is one of a number of immigration cases the conservative-dominated Supreme Court will hear this term. In December, the court will hear arguments on the legality of deporting undocumented migrants to countries that are not their own, so-called “third country” deportations. The Supreme Court is expected to hear the asylum case early next year and issue a ruling by the end of June.
Trump campaigned for president promising to expel millions of undocumented migrants and has taken a number of actions aimed at speeding up deportations and reducing border crossings. Some of his mass deportation efforts have been thwarted or stalled by the courts over concerns that migrant rights to due process are being ignored.
© 2024 AFP
