Supreme Court Says Asylum Requires Physical Entry, Allowing Metering at Border

The U.S. -Mexico border before they physically enter the country. The decision interprets the phrase "arrives in the United States" in federal asylum law to require actual entry and permits the executive branch to resume a metering policy that limits the number of claims processed each day at ports of entry.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority that the statutory language requires physical presence. "You can't arrive in the United States while you're still standing in Mexico. That should be the end of this case," he stated.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, arguing that speaking with a border agent at a port of entry constitutes the first step of arrival. In a separate 6-3 ruling the same day, the court held that the Trump administration may end Temporary Protected Status for more than 356,000 Syrian and Haitian nationals. Justice Alito wrote that the governing statute bars judicial review of such terminations.

The court also found Haitian plaintiffs unlikely to succeed on claims of racial discrimination. The metering policy was first implemented in 2016 and rescinded in 2021. Temporary Protected Status allows recipients from designated countries to live and work legally in the United States for up to 18 months, with possible extensions, and prevents removal or detention based solely on immigration status.

The United States first granted the status to Haitians after the 2010 earthquake and to Syrians after civil war began in 2012.