Supreme court immigration ruling backs Biden administration
The first supreme court decision of the day is in. It’s the case of United States v Hansen, a 7-2 ruling that concerns a man who ran an allegdly illegal adoption scheme to gain citizenship for foreign nationals.
It’s not one of the “big” cases. But it is being seen as win for the Biden administration in its defense of a law that criminalizes the solicitation or encouragement of improper immigration. More details to come, but here’s the ruling in full.
Key events
Justice Brett Kavanaugh has written the second ruling of the day, an 8-1 majority in the case of US v Texas.
The state was joined by Louisiana in challenging a Biden administration policy prioritizing groups of unauthorized immigrants, including suspected terrorists, convicts, and those caught at the border for deportation. The states wanted the authority to fight the policy in court.
The court holds that the states do not have legal standing to challenge the policy, another win for the Biden administration, especially since conservative justice Samuel Alito was the only dissent.
Supreme court immigration ruling backs Biden administration
The first supreme court decision of the day is in. It’s the case of United States v Hansen, a 7-2 ruling that concerns a man who ran an allegdly illegal adoption scheme to gain citizenship for foreign nationals.
It’s not one of the “big” cases. But it is being seen as win for the Biden administration in its defense of a law that criminalizes the solicitation or encouragement of improper immigration. More details to come, but here’s the ruling in full.
We’re thinking that we are likely to see one or more of the “big” supreme court decisions coming down this morning, after yesterday’s batch – while still significant – weren’t among the most talked about.
The highlight of Thursday’s opinions was a ruling against the Navajo nation on water rights, and the court soon closed up shop for the day after delivering only four of the 18 cases still outstanding at that stage.
Here’s an excellent guide to the 14 left to come from veteran supreme court analyst Amy Howe. Two of them relate to affirmative action, and how race plays a role in the college admissions process.
And while we’re waiting for this morning’s developments, have a read of some more high court news from my colleague Stephanie Kirchgaessner about mounting pressure on conservative justice Clarence Thomas over ethics controversies:
Good morning US politics blog readers, and welcome to our Friday edition rounding out an eventful week in Washington DC and elsewhere.
This morning we’re expecting to see a batch more decisions coming down from the supreme court as the clock ticks towards the end of its current session next week.
By our reckoning, there are 14 cases that the justices still have to release opinions on. They include “blockbusters” covering civil rights, LBGTQ+ rights, affirmative action in colleges and universities, and perhaps most significant of all, the fate of Joe Biden’s program for student debt relief.
The court opens for business at 10am ET, and we’ll be here to bring you decisions as they’re announced.
Here’s what else were watching:
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It’s day three of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s state visit, after he was pressed on his human rights record on Thursday. Later this morning, Modi and Biden will meet leaders of US and Indian businesses as one of the final acts of his trip.
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Mike Pence is reportedly gearing up for an appearance alongside other Republican presidential hopefuls at the conservative Faith & Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority conference in Washington DC. The former vice-president is expected to call for even tighter abortion restrictions nationwide, Politico reports.
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Speaker Kevin McCarthy is feeling the heat from moderates after Republican House extremists pushed through measures this week to censure California Democrat Adam Schiff for investigating Donald Trump, and sent dead-on-arrival impeachment articles for Biden, introduced by Colorado rightwinger Lauren Boebert, for committee debate.
