Border and Asylum Policy

The Supreme Court heard Noem v. Al Otro Lado on March 24, 2026, focusing on how to interpret the statutory phrase “arrives in the United States” in challenges to the Trump‑era “metering” practice — specifically whether people stopped short of the border can be said to have “arrived.” Government lawyers, including the Solicitor General, urged that “arrives” requires physical entry and defended metering as a tool DHS may need for future surges, while challengers argued arrival can occur at the port‑of‑entry threshold; justices probed hypotheticals about how to draw the line and questioned the need to rule on a policy that has been rescinded, and the DOJ has accused lower courts of undercutting executive authority.