WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a Trump administration border asylum restriction, ruling that migrants who have not physically entered the United States may be turned away before they can seek asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. The 6-3 decision gives the administration authority to revive a policy that limits access to asylum processing at ports of entry.
The case centered on whether federal immigration law requires the government to process asylum claims from people who have reached a U.S. port of entry but remain outside U.S. territory. The court’s majority concluded that migrants who have not crossed into the country have not yet “arrived” under the relevant immigration statutes, allowing border officials to restrict entry for asylum processing purposes.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion, arguing that the ordinary meaning of “arrive in” requires a person to have entered the country. The ruling reversed a lower court decision that had blocked the government from using the policy, commonly referred to as “metering,” which allows officials to limit the number of asylum seekers processed at the border each day.
The Trump administration had argued that the restriction was necessary to manage border operations and maintain control over the number of people seeking entry. The policy had previously been used by federal officials during earlier administrations before being ended by the Biden administration.
Immigration advocacy groups criticized the ruling, arguing that limiting access to asylum processing could leave vulnerable migrants waiting outside the United States for extended periods. Supporters of the policy said it provides the government with additional tools to manage large numbers of arrivals at border facilities.
The decision was part of a broader series of immigration-related cases before the Supreme Court involving the Trump administration’s efforts to expand executive authority over border enforcement and immigration policy. In a separate ruling, the court also allowed the administration to end Temporary Protected Status for certain groups, including Haitians and Syrians covered by the program.
The Supreme Court’s ruling does not itself require the administration to immediately reinstate the policy, but it removes the legal barrier that had prevented officials from using the restriction. The administration’s next steps will determine whether and how the policy is implemented at the border.
