The US supreme court agreed on Friday to consider Donald Trump’s ban on asylum at the US-Mexico border, a pillar of the Republican president’s far-reaching crackdown on immigration.
The Trump administration wants to overturn lower court decisions that found the executive order banning asylum applications is illegal.
Federal law gives people the right to seek asylum if they fear persecution in their home countries, no matter how they arrived in the US.
At the same time, it also allows the executive branch to decide whether people are granted asylum. The Trump administration argues it can categorically deny asylum to migrants covered by the order and should not have to accept applications destined to be rejected.
Federal attorneys say years-long processing times had previously contributed to an influx of migrants at the southern border as many were released into the country while awaiting a decision.
But immigration attorneys at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and National Immigrant Justice Center counter that border crossings were already falling before Trump took office.
They say his executive order is an attempt to unilaterally “eviscerate” legal protections aimed at protecting people fleeing danger in their home countries.
The executive branch does decide whether to grant asylum, which allows people to live and work legally in the US. But those decisions are supposed to be made on an individual basis and the law doesn’t allow the president to unilaterally stop people from even applying, those attorneys argue.
The asylum ban was one of a series of immigration restrictions Trump rolled out upon his return to office in 2025. It has remained in place during the litigation.
