Breaking News: Supreme Court decides immigration case

The Supreme Court today decided Santos-Zacaria v. Garland

 Britain Eakin in Law360  Listen to article offers a capsule summary of the decision:

"The U.S. Supreme Court ruled [today] that federal appeals courts have the authority to review Board of Immigration Appeals decisions in cases involving allegations that the board mishandled them, rejecting the Biden administration's argument that all administrative appeals must be exhausted first and finding in favor of a transgender woman fighting her removal ruling.

All justices agreed that Section 1252(d)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act does not require undocumented immigrants fighting removal orders in such cases to file motions for reconsideration with the board before turning to federal appeals courts.

The ruling vacated in part and remanded a Fifth Circuit decision rebuffing a bid by Guatemalan national Estrella Santos-Zacaria — who is identified in court documents as a transgender woman and whose legal first name is Leon — for a waiver of removal after she claimed the board inappropriately participated in its own fact-finding in reviewing her case when it should have only relied on an immigration judge's fact-finding process."

 

Justice Jackson delivered the opinion of the Court.  Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Sotomayor, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett joined.  Justice Alito filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, in which Justice Thomas joined.

 

Click here for updates with analysis of the decision.

 

KJ