The Supreme Court has denied a request from Republican-led states asking to join a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s border restrictions.
The case was brought by the ACLU and other rights groups after the administration announced the new asylum rule this summer.
Under the rule, which was formalized this fall, most migrants arrested by the Border Patrol are swiftly sent back to Mexico or their home countries, and barred from seeking asylum in the U.S. in the future. The ACLU suit argues that goes against U.S. immigration law, which outlines the right to seek asylum along the border, even if it’s not at an official port of entry.
A group of four GOP-led states filed a motion to be part of the case earlier this year. They argued that the Biden administration had ended lawsuits against its policies with settlement agreements in the past — and their states deserved the chance to defend the rule independently.
That request was denied in an appeals court and the decision was upheld this week by the High Court judges.
