The Supreme Court will consider whether asylum seekers who cross into the U.S. illegally can challenge government efforts to deport them quickly, the Wall Street Journal reports. The justices said they would hear a Trump-administration appeal of a ruling that said migrants can go to court to contest government determinations that they are ineligible for asylum and should be removed swiftly. The administration said the ruling undermined “the government’s ability to control the border” and subverted a legal provision that says migrants ordered for expedited removal can’t go to court. In a separate case, the Supreme Court said it would review deportation litigation against a Lebanese immigrant who says he will be tortured if returned to his home country.
The appeals add more immigration cases to a docket with several already. The Supreme Court hears arguments next month on whether the administration lawfully canceled Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals(DACA), the Obama-era program that provided protections and work permits to undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. Last week, the high court considered state prosecutions against immigrants who provide false Social Security numbers when applying for jobs. The new asylum case centers on a Sri Lankan man who fled to Latin America after allegedly facing political persecution in his country. Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam entered the U.S. near San Diego in 2017 and was apprehended by a border-patrol agent. An asylum officer and immigration judge each rejected his claims, and he was slated for expedited removal. Thuraissigiam challenged the decisions, arguing he wasn’t given a meaningful opportunity to make his case for asylum. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said the Constitution didn’t allow Congress to suspend access to federal courts for people in Thuraissigiam’s circumstances.