Overview
- A 6-3 Supreme Court ruling in Blanche v. Lau held that border officers do not need clear and convincing evidence that a green card holder committed a disqualifying crime before treating them as an 'applicant for admission,' which allows later proof in removal proceedings.
- A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit overturned a lower-court block and permitted the administration to apply expedited removal nationwide, allowing officials to remove noncitizens without an immigration-judge hearing when they cannot show two years of continuous U.S. presence.
- On Thursday the Supreme Court issued separate 6-3 decisions that limit asylum claims by people turned away before entering U.S. territory and allow the government to end Temporary Protected Status for countries such as Haiti and Syria, narrowing humanitarian protections.
- Two district judges have pushed back: U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts vacated nationwide policies that expanded courthouse arrests and prolonged short-term detention, finding those changes arbitrary under the Administrative Procedure Act.
- The rulings give DHS broader enforcement tools and prompt new legal fights; DHS praised the decisions while immigrant-rights groups and dissenting jurists warn of lower due process protections, possible wrongful deportations, and operational uncertainty for courts and agencies.