Supreme Court Questions What It Means To Be ‘in’ The U.s.

A fight at the Supreme Court over the government’s power to block asylum seekers from reaching ports along the Mexican border may come down to the definition of the word “in.”.

There were some prickly moments as the justices heard arguments Tuesday about the legality of a “metering” policy the Obama administration experimented with — and the first Trump administration adopted more broadly — under which Customs and Border Protection agents turned back asylum seekers at the Mexican border.

A federal judge in San Diego and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the practice is illegal because federal law entitles any foreigner who is “physically present in the United States [or] arrives in the United States” to pursue an asylum claim.

The court’s conservative majority appeared likely to conclude that the 1996 law applies only to people who make it “in” to the U.S., and not to those stopped at the border.

“Do you think someone who comes to the front door of a house and knocks at the door has arrived ‘in’ the house? The person may have arrived ‘at’ the house,” Justice Samuel Alito said to the lawyer arguing for the asylum seekers, Kelsi Corkran.

However, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said turning people away could violate treaty obligations and lead to tragedy, just as the U.S.’ decision to refuse ships carrying Jewish refugees did in World War II.

“The majority of those people were shipped back or had to go back from where they came and were killed,” Sotomayor said. “That’s what we’re doing here.”

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson repeatedly noted that the policy isn’t in effect and urged her colleagues to consider wiping out the lower court rulings without opining on what “arrives in” means. But it wasn’t clear that her proposal had any takers on the court.

Chief Justice John Roberts was unusually forceful at points during the session. “Please!” he called out as Jackson and Justice Amy Coney Barrett talked over each other. The chief justice also cut off Sotomayor at one juncture, insisting that DOJ attorney Vivek Suri be allowed to finish an answer to one of her questions.