Overview
- The Supreme Court on Tuesday, May 26, 2026 vacated and remanded a 4th Circuit ruling and returned the case to lower courts after finding the appeals panel decided an argument that the parties had not raised.
- The unsigned opinion was strictly procedural and did not rule on whether the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s rule requiring prior approval for ‘official’ speeches violates immigration judges’ First Amendment rights.
- Under federal law the Civil Service Reform Act channels many work‑related constitutional claims into the Office of Special Counsel and the Merit Systems Protection Board rather than district court, and the justices said the parties had confined their arguments to whether the judges’ claims were covered by that statute.
- Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, filed a separate opinion saying the merits favored the administration, signaling how at least two justices view the underlying legal question even though the Court left it unresolved.
- About 750 immigration judges remain subject to the speech‑approval policy and the ruling means litigation will continue in the lower courts where factfinding will determine whether administrative remedies must be exhausted and how the constitutional challenge should proceed.