Supreme Court hears arguments on border policy

The United States Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday over a Biden administration policy that seeks to focus border security efforts on people who have committed acts of terrorism, espionage, or threats to public safety. Texas and Louisiana sued the Biden administration over the policy. The policy would prevent immigration officers from enforcing federal immigration laws that would deport many more people than just those deemed threats, the states said. Biden’s policy is currently frozen and the Supreme Court will likely release its opinion in the spring of 2023.

What has been the policy of past administrations? Many agencies, including U.S. deportation agents, exercise “prosecutorial discretion” to determine whether filing a charge or making an arrest is appropriate in a given situation. The Obama administration issued several memos directing where Immigration Customs Enforcement should focus their efforts. A Trump-era policy deported people who were illegally in the country, regardless of their criminal history or their community ties. The Biden administration policy stems from a September 2021 Department of Homeland Security directive.

Dig deeper: Listen to Bonnie Pritchett’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about a ministry in south Texas that reaches out to migrants.