WASHINGTON (November 17, 2025) – Today, the Supreme Court granted the Trump Administration’s request to reconsider the Ninth Circuit’s decision that outlawed the U.S. government’s previous reversal policy, which the government called “metering.” Under this policy, border officials physically blocked people from applying for asylum at ports of entry along the southern border and turned them back to Mexico.
In response, lawyers for asylum seekers and the organization that provides services to them, Al Otro Lado, shared the following comments:
“The question before the court is whether noncitizens seeking safety at ports of entry along the southern U.S. border have a legal right to apply for asylum in the United States. As the Ninth Circuit correctly concluded, our immigration laws require the government to screen and process asylum seekers at ports of entry and allow them to pursue their legal claims in the United States. The pullback policy was an illegal scheme to circumvent these requirements by physically interfering with asylum seekers arriving at ports of entry and preventing them from entering the country.”Unable to cross borders to seek protection, vulnerable families, children, and adults fleeing persecution are placed in dangerous situations where they face violent assault, kidnapping, and death. ”
Co-advisors include the American Council on Immigration, the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (CGRS), the Center for Constitutional Rights, Democracy Forward, and the Institute for Constitutional Defense and Advocacy.
For more information on this incident, see here, here, and here.
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Al Otro Lado provides comprehensive legal and humanitarian assistance to refugees, deportees, and other immigrants in the United States and Tijuana through an interdisciplinary, client-centered, harm reduction-based practice. They work to impact individual representation, human rights monitoring, medical and legal partnerships, and litigation to protect the rights of migrants and asylum-seekers.
The American Immigration Council works to strengthen America by shaping how America thinks and acts about immigrants and immigrants, working toward a fairer and more just immigration system that opens doors to people in need of protection and unleashes the energy and skills that immigrants bring. The Council brings together problem solvers to drive change through four coordinated approaches: litigation, research, legislative and administrative advocacy, and communications.
The Center for Gender and Refugee Studies champions the human rights of courageous refugees seeking asylum in the United States. With strategic focus and unparalleled legal expertise, CGRS defends the most difficult cases, fights for due process, and advances policies that provide safety and justice for refugees.
The Center for Constitutional Rights works with threatened communities to fight for justice and liberation through litigation, advocacy, and strategic communications. Since 1966, the Center for Constitutional Rights has taken on oppressive systems of power, including structural racism, gender oppression, economic inequality, and government overreach.
Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement.
The Institute for Constitutional Defense and Advocacy is a nonpartisan public interest organization affiliated with Georgetown Law. ICAP works in litigation, policy, and public education to defend constitutional rights and protect democratic processes.
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Media contact:
Elissa Pachico, American Immigration Council; [email protected]503-850-8407
