The U.S. Supreme Court gave President Donald Trump a victory after said it allowed the Government to continue enforcing a policy that makes asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for U.S. court hearings, overruling the lower court decision.
The justices' order last 10 March, over a dissenting vote by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, overturns a lower court order that would have blocked the policy, at least for people arriving at the border crossings in Arizona and California.
The lower court order was to have taken effect 12 March. Instead, the "Remain in Mexico" policy will remain in force while a lawsuit challenging it plays out in the courts, probably at least through the end of President Donald Trump's term in January.
The next step for the administration is to file a formal appeal with the Supreme Court. But the justices may not even consider the appeal until the fall and, if the case is granted full review, arguments would not be held until early 2021.
The high court action is the latest instance of the justices siding with the administration to allow Trump's immigration policies to continue after lower courts had moved to halt them. Other cases include the travel ban on visitors from some largely Muslim countries, construction of the border wall, and the "wealth test" for people seeking green cards.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which has always ruled against President Trump's policy, said that the measure, known officially as "Migrant Protection Protocols," probably is illegal under U.S. law to prevent sending people to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened because of their race, religion, nationality, political beliefs or membership in a particular social group.
About 60,000 asylum-seekers have been returned to Mexico to wait for their cases to wind through clogged U.S. immigration courts since the policy was introduced in January 2019 in San Diego and later expanded across the border.
The Justice Department said the high court's order restores "the government’s ability to manage the Southwest border and to work cooperatively with the Mexican government to address illegal immigration."
The justices' order last 10 March, over a dissenting vote by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, overturns a lower court order that would have blocked the policy, at least for people arriving at the border crossings in Arizona and California.
The lower court order was to have taken effect 12 March. Instead, the "Remain in Mexico" policy will remain in force while a lawsuit challenging it plays out in the courts, probably at least through the end of President Donald Trump's term in January.
The next step for the administration is to file a formal appeal with the Supreme Court. But the justices may not even consider the appeal until the fall and, if the case is granted full review, arguments would not be held until early 2021.
The high court action is the latest instance of the justices siding with the administration to allow Trump's immigration policies to continue after lower courts had moved to halt them. Other cases include the travel ban on visitors from some largely Muslim countries, construction of the border wall, and the "wealth test" for people seeking green cards.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which has always ruled against President Trump's policy, said that the measure, known officially as "Migrant Protection Protocols," probably is illegal under U.S. law to prevent sending people to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened because of their race, religion, nationality, political beliefs or membership in a particular social group.
About 60,000 asylum-seekers have been returned to Mexico to wait for their cases to wind through clogged U.S. immigration courts since the policy was introduced in January 2019 in San Diego and later expanded across the border.
The Justice Department said the high court's order restores "the government’s ability to manage the Southwest border and to work cooperatively with the Mexican government to address illegal immigration."