Non-citizens arriving at US border do not automatically get asylum, can be turned away: Supreme court backs Trump administration
Non-citizens who arrive at the US border do not automatically qualify for asylum and can be turned away if they are still outside the country, the US Supreme Court has ruled in a 6–3 decision backing the Trump administration’s interpretation of immigration law.
The case focused on whether people waiting on the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border can be considered as having “arrived” in US under federal asylum law, which allows applications from those “physically present in the United States” or who “arrives in the United States.”
Justice Samuel Alito said the law only applies once a person physically crosses into US territory. He said someone standing in Mexico does not “arrive in the US by attempting, and failing, to set foot in this country,” and therefore only arrives once they cross the border. On that basis, he concluded that federal law does not require immigration officers to inspect such individuals.
The case focused on whether people waiting on the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border can be considered as having “arrived” in US under federal asylum law, which allows applications from those “physically present in the United States” or who “arrives in the United States.”
Justice Samuel Alito said the law only applies once a person physically crosses into US territory. He said someone standing in Mexico does not “arrive in the US by attempting, and failing, to set foot in this country,” and therefore only arrives once they cross the border. On that basis, he concluded that federal law does not require immigration officers to inspect such individuals.
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