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The US Supreme Court on Tuesday considered a former policy that involved turning away migrants before they crossed the US-Mexico border to submit asylum claims.
The policy, referred to as “metering”, has not been in operation since 2021, but Donald Trump is seeking a ruling confirming its legality should it be reintroduced.
Under the arrangement, US federal agents stationed on the Mexican side of the border were permitted to deny entry to prospective asylum seekers before they reached US territory.
The Immigration and Nationality Act provides that an “alien who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States” may apply for asylum. A split appeals court ruled in 2024 that this provision applies to individuals seeking asylum at ports of entry, “whichever side of the border they are standing on”.
The Trump administration has asked the conservative-leaning US Supreme Court to overturn that interpretation.
“In ordinary English, a person ‘arrives in’ a country only when he comes within its borders,” Solicitor General John Sauer argued in a filing. “An alien thus does not ‘arrive in’ the United States while he is still in Mexico.”
At issue before the court is whether a migrant stopped on the Mexican side of the border can be considered to have “arrived in the United States”.
Trump returned to office after campaigning on a pledge to remove millions of undocumented migrants and has since introduced measures aimed at accelerating deportations and curbing border crossings.
“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,” it added.
The organisation further argued that vulnerable families, children and individuals fleeing persecution were left stranded in dangerous conditions, where they faced risks including assault, kidnapping and death.
The Trump administration has significantly reduced the intake of refugees and asylum seekers, while prioritising white South Africans.
The asylum case is among several immigration-related matters the US Supreme Court has agreed to consider this year.
On April 1, the justices are set to hear a challenge to Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship. They have also agreed to rule on the administration’s effort to remove temporary protections against deportation for Haitian and Syrian migrants.
