‘EXTRAORDINARILY UNUSUAL’

Supreme Court Tosses GOP Challenge to Biden’s Immigration Policy

Texas and Louisiana had argued that the U.S. prioritizing which non-citizens to deport went against immigration law—but the eight justices weren’t buying it.

The Supreme Court declared Friday that an “extraordinarily unusual lawsuit” from two Republican attorneys general from Texas and Louisiana did not have the “standing” to challenge the Biden administration’s immigration guidelines. Specifically, the states took issue with a 2021 Homeland Security memo that outlined priorities for deportation of non-citizens, placing those posing threats to national or border security at the front of the line. The states claimed that the U.S. choosing which non-citizens to deport went against immigration law—but the justices weren’t buying it. “They want a federal court to order the Executive Branch to alter its arrest policies so as to make more arrests,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion. “Federal courts have not traditionally entertained that kind of lawsuit.” The ruling was 8-1, with only Justice Samuel Alito dissenting.