The Economist asks:
In Noem v. Al Otro Lado, will the Supreme Court rule that an alien who is not physically present in the US can, for the purposes of applying for asylum under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), have "arrive[d] in the US?"
Closing Jul 01, 2026 07:01AM UTC
In 2016, the US began a policy known as "metering," which put limits on the number of asylum seekers the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) would process at ports of entry for a given day, and required asylum seekers to remain in Mexico until they had capacity available for processing (Congressional Research Service). This created a question of whether an asylum seeker "arrives" in the US when they present themselves to CBP at a port of entry without actually entering the US, which is relevant to whether the asylum seeker has a right to apply for asylum under the Immigration and Nationality Act (SCOTUSblog, Cornell - 8 U.S. Code § 1158, Cornell - 8 U.S. Code § 1225). The district court and Ninth Circuit concluded that the phrase "arrives in the United States" "encompasses those who encounter officials at the border, whichever side of the border they are standing on," and the US government appealed to the Supreme Court (Politico). The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision in its 2025 term, but if it does not, the question will close as "No." If the Court decides this case without addressing this question's particular issue or issues of law, the question will close as "No."
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