WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday backed the Trump administration’s bid to strengthen its ability to regulate the entry of asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border.Limited time: Save 25% on NBC News subscriptionGet exclusive reporting, live Q&As and ad-free reading.Divided 6-3, the court ruled that someone who seeks to enter the United States at the southern border cannot claim asylum if they present themselves to officials while still standing on Mexican soil because they are not technically in the United States.The case saw conservative Justice Samuel Alito, who authored the ruling, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who dissented, clash openly in court as the ruling was announced.Under federal immigration law, a person can seek asylum only if he or she is “physically present” in the country or “arrives in the United States.” The policy, first introduced in a different form by President Barack Obama in 2016, sought to prevent that requirement from being triggered by allowing U.S.Customs and Border Protection officers to block people from entering a border crossing area if the facility was deemed to be at capacity.The court agreed that the Trump administration could reimplement that policy.
Officials can once again prevent some people from applying for asylum by ensuring they cannot cross the border to present themselves to immigration officers.Alito wrote that the ruling was based on a straightforward understanding of the law’s language.“In ordinary speech, no one would say that a person ‘arrives in’ a place ...before the person enters the place,” he wrote.In dissent, Sotomayor objected that the decision could have harsh implications for those seeking asylum, as it would encourage them to cross the border illegally.“More people will die.
More people will attempt to cross the border illegally, and some will make it while others will not,” she wrote.Trump, as part of his hardline immigration policy, has sought to restrict asylum cl...