WASHINGTON, DC0 President-elect Trump and his incoming border czar, Tom Homan, may have received an early Christmas present last week courtesy of the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS). That present came in the form of a unanimous 9-0 decision that may help strengthen deportation powers, the Dallas Express reports.
The ruling came in Bouarfa v. Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, et al., in which a US citizen, the plaintiff, began the process of obtaining legal residence for her noncitizen spouse, Ala’a Hamayel. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) initially approved the application, however, it was later determined it was filed under false pretenses.
Under federal law, USCIS “shall…approve” a visa application if it is determined “that the facts stated in the petition are true” and the noncitizen is, in fact, the petitioner’s spouse. However, if the noncitizen previously sought or received an immigration benefit “by reason of marriage determined by the Attorney General to have been entered into for the purpose of evading the immigration laws”--known as the sham marriage bar–-USCIS is required to deny the application.
In denying the application, USCIS argued there was “evidence suggesting that her husband had previously entered into a marriage for the purpose of evading immigration laws,” a charge that the couple denied.
The Board of Immigration Appeals upheld the revocation, agreeing with USCIS that Hamayel entered into a prior sham marriage that would have prevented the initial visa approval.
The two sued, with a federal court dismissing the case, noting federal courts don’t have jurisdiction over certain discretionary agency decisions. The couple appealed to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the lower court’s decision. They then appealed to the Supreme Court, which issued the 9-0 ruling last week.
“Section 1155 is a quintessential grant of discretion,” wrote Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, one of the court’s far-left liberals, appointed by Joe Biden. “The Secretary ‘may’ revoke a previously approved petition ‘at any time’ for what the Secretary deems ‘good and sufficient cause.’ Congress did not impose specific criteria or conditions limiting this authority, nor did it prescribe how or when the Secretary must act.”
The ruling follows the typically left-leaning Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling early this month that the federal government has the authority to deport illegal aliens over the objection of local authorities, as reported by The Center Square.”
In June, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of federal deportation policies in three consolidated cases on appeal before the Fifth and Ninth circuits, where the courts issued conflicting rulings.
In that case, the lawsuits were brought by illegal aliens deemed “inadmissible” under federal law and who were issued Notice to Appear (NTA) documents demanding they appear before an immigration court at a future date and time. None of the plaintiffs showed up at their hearings, and federal immigration judges ordered them deported in absentia under federal law.
The illegal alien plaintiffs sued and demanded their removal orders be rescinded, claiming they didn’t receive proper written notification, challenged the definitions of the word “change” in the orders they received, and made other technical arguments. It was not reported where they received the money for these appeals nor who represented them.
The three illegal aliens, who were from El Salvador, India, and Mexico, claimed they had a right to stay in the country despite court orders requiring their deportation. That ruling, by a 5-4 margin, ruled against them.
The ruling will likely set a precedent for future cases to be brought after the current administration began issuing NTAs with court dates set three or four years down the road, as reported in The Center Square. The ruling(s) could also have a bearing on some 200,000 deportation cases dismissed by immigration judges because the Department of Homeland Security didn’t file paperwork with the courts in a timely manner.
The rulings are expected to have the most impact on any illegal aliens who attempt to fight a deportation plan by the incoming administration whereby millions of illegal aliens were released into the country by the Biden administration. President-elect Trump and Homan have vowed to begin a “mass deportation program” to rid the country of the illegal alien invaders, starting with criminal gangs such as Tren de Aragua and MS-13.
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