{"id":35,"date":"2026-05-24T17:10:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T17:10:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=35"},"modified":"2026-05-24T17:10:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T17:10:40","slug":"in-immigration-cases-the-court-doesnt-just-settle-disagreements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=35","title":{"rendered":"In immigration cases, the court doesn\u2019t just settle disagreements"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Immigration Matters is a recurring series by C\u00e9sar Cuauht\u00e9moc Garc\u00eda Hern\u00e1ndez that analyzes the court\u2019s immigration docket, highlighting emerging legal questions about new policy and enforcement practices.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more What oral argument reveals about Supreme Court unanimity and division<\/a><\/p>\n

Sitting at the top of the judicial branch in the United States, the Supreme Court\u2019s role as the final arbiter of federal legal disputes is unquestioned. But how the court chooses which disputes to settle is cloudier. In a recent interview, Justice Neil Gorsuch claimed that the court weighs in when lower courts can\u2019t agree. That statement echoes certain of the court\u2019s , but it doesn\u2019t explain why the court chose to hear high-profile immigration cases this term, including the dispute over birthright citizenship.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court is unusual in that it has almost complete control over which cases it considers. Unlike U.S district courts and circuit courts, which must decide the cases that are filed with them, the Supreme Court gets to pick which cases it hears out of the thousands of requests that it receives from lawyers, including the Justice Department. Every year, the justices hear arguments in through the part of its workload called the merits docket \u2013 the traditional process in which parties typically have several months to submit written briefs and present oral arguments, after which the justices take another few months to issue lengthy written opinions addressing the merits of the legal dispute. The justices also decide cases that reach it through a separate, fast-paced process, called the emergency docket (also known as the shadow docket or the interim docket).<\/p>\n

Without doubt, one of the court\u2019s principal functions is to resolve disagreements among lower courts. \u201cAmericans file about 50 million lawsuits a year, and you give us the 70 hardest ones, where lower court judges have disagreed about what the law means about a statute or a provision of the Constitution dictates in a particular case,\u201d Gorsuch said in a televised interview earlier this month. Indeed, the short list of \u201ccompelling reasons\u201d for the court to hear a case that appear in the court\u2019s rules include two common types of disagreement. The court is more likely to add a case to its calendar when federal courts of appeals have issued conflicting decisions, referred to as a circuit split, or when decisions from the highest courts in two or more states interpret federal law differently.<\/p>\n

A close look at the immigration cases that the court agreed to hear this term, which began last October, suggests that the court didn\u2019t limit itself to resolving disagreements, however. The most high-profile immigration matter to appear on the court\u2019s docket \u2013 the ongoing dispute over the legality of President Donald Trump\u2019s executive order attempting to limit access to birthright citizenship \u2013 features remarkable agreement. Multiple courts deciding multiple lawsuits concluded that the president\u2019s order is illegal. Whether a lawsuit was brought by private individuals, non-governmental organizations, or states, the parties challenging Trump\u2019s birthright citizenship directive won at every stage of every lawsuit (except on the procedural question of whether district courts could issue nationwide bars of such executive actions). On April 1, the justices nevertheless heard on the issue in Trump v. Barbara<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The other well-publicized immigration policy matter that the court added to its merits docket this term concerns temporary protected status. That litigation\u2019s trajectory also shows immense agreement among lower courts. Indeed, the dispute before the court \u2013 over the secretary of homeland security\u2019s authority to terminate TPS for Syrians and Haitians, which was argued on April 29 \u2013 joined two cases, involving decisions from four courts, that came to the same conclusion. In Doe v. Noem<\/em>, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York explained that Kristi Noem, who served as secretary of homeland security when DHS announced that it would no longer provide TPS to Syrian citizens, violated federal law. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit unanimously the Trump administration\u2019s request to stay the district court\u2019s order while it appealed, noting, as the district court had, that the government was likely to lose. Similarly, in Miot v. Trump<\/em>, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that Noem violated federal law by attempting to terminate TPS for citizens of Haiti. Two judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia the government\u2019s request to stay the district court order pending appeal (although over a dissent).<\/p>\n

Read more Opinions for Thursday, May 21<\/a><\/p>\n

Litigation over the legal rights of asylum-seekers blocked at the U.S. border, also currently awaiting a decision by the justices, likewise didn\u2019t arrive before them after lower court disagreement. In Al Otro Lado v. Mayorkas<\/em>, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California stopped the Biden administration from refusing to consider asylum applications from people physically blocked at the border by DHS officers. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit affirmed that part of the district court\u2019s decision. When the government asked the 9th Circuit to hear the case en banc, the court over dissents by 12 judges. No other courts issued opinions in similar lawsuits, meaning that it would be impossible for a circuit split to exist.<\/p>\n

That there is no conflict among lower courts in the legal challenges to immigration policies that have reached the court\u2019s merits docket this term suggests that something else is going on. Despite Gorsuch\u2019s comment, the court doesn\u2019t only resolve disagreements among lower courts. It also weighs in on important questions of federal law. As the court\u2019s rules note, it is more inclined to weigh in when a state court or federal court of appeals \u201chas decided an important question of federal law that has not been, but should be, settled\u201d by the Supreme Court or has decided it \u201cin a way that conflicts\u201d with the court\u2019s prior decisions. The court can choose what it defines as important and, until the justices issue opinions, only they know whether the circuit court decisions in the TPS and asylum-access cases conflict with prior Supreme Court decisions. But Barbara<\/em>, the challenge to the president\u2019s birthright citizenship directive, doesn\u2019t involve a court of appeals or state court decision. So that leads to one conclusion: the court considers these cases of \u201cimperative public importance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, from outside the court, it\u2019s impossible to know why the justices added these three cases to the court\u2019s calendar. Furthermore, assessing a case\u2019s importance when filling the limited slots on the court\u2019s merits docket doesn\u2019t necessarily reflect anything inappropriate. But unlike instances in which the lower courts disagree, the alternative pathways to Supreme Court review require deliberate choices by the justices. The court didn\u2019t have to become involved in these disputes; the justices wanted to. By doing so, the court has guaranteed itself a starring role in some of the president\u2019s most prominent policies and in the political storm that swirls around them.<\/p>\n

At his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chief Justice John Roberts famously compared judges to baseball umpires. As a judge, \u201cit\u2019s my job to call balls and strikes, and not to pitch or bat,\u201d Roberts said. In choosing cases where the lower courts all agree (or where disagreement is impossible because only one court has considered the issue), however, the justices do more than act like neutral umpires. The justices also pick the teams.<\/p>\n

Read more Court rules against cruise lines in Cuban confiscation case<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Immigration Matters is a recurring series by C\u00e9sar Cuauht\u00e9moc Garc\u00eda Hern\u00e1ndez that analyzes the court\u2019s immigration docket, highlighting emerging legal questions about new policy and enforcement practices. Read more What oral argument reveals about Supreme Court unanimity and division Sitting at the top of the judicial branch in the United States, the Supreme Court\u2019s role […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-immigration-matters"],"yoast_head":"\nIn immigration cases, the court doesn\u2019t just settle disagreements - American Service Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=35\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In immigration cases, the court doesn\u2019t just settle disagreements - American Service Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Immigration Matters is a recurring series by C\u00e9sar Cuauht\u00e9moc Garc\u00eda Hern\u00e1ndez that analyzes the court\u2019s immigration docket, highlighting emerging legal questions about new policy and enforcement practices. Read more What oral argument reveals about Supreme Court unanimity and division Sitting at the top of the judicial branch in the United States, the Supreme Court\u2019s role […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=35\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Service Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-24T17:10:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/?p=35#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/?p=35\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/220bfdac1627513926924476de32dedb\"},\"headline\":\"In immigration cases, the court doesn\u2019t just settle disagreements\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-24T17:10:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/?p=35\"},\"wordCount\":1287,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/?p=35#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/3e2283f29245e536add52afa51cc3ef7.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Commentary\",\"IMMIGRATION MATTERS\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/?p=35#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/?p=35\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/?p=35\",\"name\":\"In immigration cases, the court doesn\u2019t just settle disagreements - American Service Review\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/?p=35#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/?p=35#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/3e2283f29245e536add52afa51cc3ef7.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-24T17:10:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/220bfdac1627513926924476de32dedb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/?p=35#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/?p=35\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/?p=35#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/3e2283f29245e536add52afa51cc3ef7.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/3e2283f29245e536add52afa51cc3ef7.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":627},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/?p=35#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"In immigration cases, the court doesn\u2019t just settle disagreements\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"American Service Review\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/220bfdac1627513926924476de32dedb\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanservicereview.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"In immigration cases, the court doesn\u2019t just settle disagreements - American Service Review","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=35","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"In immigration cases, the court doesn\u2019t just settle disagreements - American Service Review","og_description":"Immigration Matters is a recurring series by C\u00e9sar Cuauht\u00e9moc Garc\u00eda Hern\u00e1ndez that analyzes the court\u2019s immigration docket, highlighting emerging legal questions about new policy and enforcement practices. Read more What oral argument reveals about Supreme Court unanimity and division Sitting at the top of the judicial branch in the United States, the Supreme Court\u2019s role […]","og_url":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=35","og_site_name":"American Service Review","article_published_time":"2026-05-24T17:10:40+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=35#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=35"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/220bfdac1627513926924476de32dedb"},"headline":"In immigration cases, the court doesn\u2019t just settle disagreements","datePublished":"2026-05-24T17:10:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=35"},"wordCount":1287,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=35#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3e2283f29245e536add52afa51cc3ef7.jpg","articleSection":["Commentary","IMMIGRATION MATTERS"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=35#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=35","url":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=35","name":"In immigration cases, the court doesn\u2019t just settle disagreements - American Service Review","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=35#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=35#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3e2283f29245e536add52afa51cc3ef7.jpg","datePublished":"2026-05-24T17:10:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/220bfdac1627513926924476de32dedb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=35#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=35"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=35#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3e2283f29245e536add52afa51cc3ef7.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3e2283f29245e536add52afa51cc3ef7.jpg","width":1200,"height":627},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=35#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"In immigration cases, the court doesn\u2019t just settle disagreements"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/","name":"American Service Review","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/220bfdac1627513926924476de32dedb","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/americanservicereview.com"],"url":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}