Supreme Court Upholds Biden Administration Policy to Prioritize Deportation of Immigrants Posing Greatest Risk to Public Safety

The Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favor of the Biden administration’s policy to prioritize the deportation of immigrants deemed to pose the greatest risk to public safety or were picked up at the border. The justices voted 8-1 to overturn a Texas-based federal judge’s ruling in June of last year that blocked the policy nationwide.

The policy, which was blocked by the Trump administration, will now be able to take effect. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas welcomed the decision, saying the policy allows immigration officers “to focus limited resources and enforcement actions on those who pose a threat to our national security, public safety and border security.”

Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the majority that the challengers did not have legal standing to sue over the plan, which focused on the longstanding discretion that immigration authorities have in deciding who to deport.

Louisiana and Texas had argued that federal immigration law requires authorities to detain and deport even those who pose little or no risk. However, the Supreme Court disagreed, recognizing that there is not enough money or manpower to deport all 11 million or so people who are in the United States illegally.

The ruling is a major victory for the Biden administration and will allow immigration officers to focus their resources on those who pose the greatest risk to public safety.