Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Uphold Asylum Ban at Southern Border

Overview

• The U.S. Solicitor General filed the petition asking the Supreme Court to review the D.C. Circuit decision, which was filed on Tuesday and seeks to restore the proclamation that restricts asylum for people who cross outside ports of entry.
• Lower courts — including a 128-page decision by Judge Randolph Moss and an April ruling from the D.C. Circuit — found the proclamation exceeds what the Immigration and Nationality Act permits, but the D.C. Circuit’s judgment is currently stayed so the administration can keep enforcing the policy.
• The government argues the proclamation was needed to regain control of an overwhelmed border and says the rule helped drive an 84% drop in Border Patrol encounters in fiscal year 2025, a figure cited in the petition.
• Plaintiffs and advocates say the policy has torn apart families, forced transfers to third-country camps such as Costa Rica and Panama, and pressured some people to return to likely persecution, and they will respond to the petition by Sept. 23.
• At stake is whether the president has statutory authority to order rapid removals that bypass normal asylum procedures and whether courts may issue classwide or nationwide relief; the Court’s choice to take the case will shape the balance between executive emergency-style border powers and statutory asylum protections.