The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a non-citizen has to physically enter the boundaries of the U.S. in order to have “arrived in” the country for purposes of asylum.

In a 6-3 decision Thursday morning, the Supreme Court ruled, “An alien standing in Mexico does not ‘arriv[e] in the United States’ by attempting, and failing, to set foot in this country.” The majority opinion holds, “An alien ‘arrives in the United States’ only when he crosses the border.” This ruling will enable President Donald Trump’s administration to turn illegal aliens back before they cross the U.S. border.

🚨 In a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court rules that asylum seekers standing in Mexico have not “arrived in the United States” under immigration law, meaning they aren’t entitled to inspection or allowed to apply for asylum until they actually cross the border. pic.twitter.com/TmPHLnlOWA

— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) June 25, 2026

The majority opinion was written by Justice Samuel Alito and joined by Chief Justice John Roberts as well as Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Thomas filed a concurring opinion, while Justice Sonia Sotomayor filed a dissenting decision, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Jackson also filed a dissenting opinion.

Thursday’s ruling overturns a Ninth Circuit Court decision which ruled, “an alien ‘arrives in the United States’—and thus must be inspected and may apply for asylum—when the alien, while standing on the Mexico side of the border, encounters a United States official at the border.”

AUTHOR

William Buckley

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