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By Dan Gooding and Gabe Whisnant
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The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to review the legality of a border practice used by multiple administrations to limit the number of migrants who can apply for asylum at ports of entry.
The justices will hear the Trump administration’s appeal of lower-court rulings that struck down the policy, known as metering, which barred migrants from stepping onto U.S. soil until processing space became available.
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment via email.
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Why It Matters
While the Trump administration effectively ended asylum at the southwest border, limits on the system had grown over recent years, at times leaving thousands of immigrants stranded in Mexico. Advocacy groups have frequently raised concerns with consecutive administrations that the United States is not fulfilling what they see as an obligation to take in those in need.
What To Know
The administration pressed for the high court's intervention even after President Donald Trump suspended the asylum system on the first day of his second term, and advocates for migrants said the lower-court rulings have no ongoing practical effect.
Metering was first implemented during former President Barack Obama's administration, when large numbers of Haitians appeared at the main crossing from Tijuana, Mexico, to San Diego. It was expanded to all border crossings from Mexico during Trump's first term in office.
The practice ended in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic led the government to restrict asylum seekers even more severely. Former President Joe Biden formally rescinded the use of metering in 2021.
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Still, the Justice Department said it wanted the justices to hear the case because the court rulings took away “a tool that administrations of both parties have deemed critical for controlling the processing of inadmissible aliens during border surges.”
U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant ruled in 2021 that metering violated the migrants' constitutional rights and a federal law requiring officials to screen anyone who shows up seeking asylum.
A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Bashant's ruling in a 2-1 decision. Twelve of the 29 judges on the San Francisco-based appeals court voted to rehear the case, a strong signal that may have caught the justices' attention.
People seeking refuge in the U.S. can apply for asylum once they are on American soil, regardless of whether they entered the country legally. To qualify, they have to show a fear of persecution in their own country because of specific reasons, such as their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.
Once people are granted asylum, they can’t be deported. They can work legally, bring immediate family, apply for legal residency and eventually seek U.S. citizenship. It offers a permanent future in the U.S.
What People Are Saying
Attorneys for the asylum seekers and Al Otro Lado, the organization serving them, shared the following comment with Newsweek: “The issue before the Court is whether noncitizens seeking safety at ports of entry along the U.S. southern border have a legal right to apply for asylum in the United States. As the Ninth Circuit correctly concluded, our immigration laws require the government to inspect and process people seeking asylum at ports of entry and allow them to pursue their legal claims in the United States.
"The government’s turnback policy was an illegal scheme to circumvent these requirements by physically blocking asylum seekers arriving at ports of entry and preventing them from crossing the border to seek protection. Vulnerable families, children, and adults fleeing persecution were stranded in perilous conditions where they faced violent assault, kidnapping, and death. We look forward to presenting our case to the Court.”
What Happens Next
The case will be argued in the late winter or early spring.
This story contains reporting by The Associated Press.
Update 11/17/25, 1:53 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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