Justice Jackson authors unanimous SCOTUS opinion handing Trump an immigration win
Supreme Court rules federal courts must defer to immigration judges on asylum decisions
By Ashley Oliver Fox News
Published March 4, 2026 4:12pm EST
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson authored the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling Wednesday ordering federal appeals courts to defer to immigration judges when reviewing asylum decisions, bolstering the executive branch's authority in immigration cases and handing the Trump administration a win as it pushes an aggressive deportation agenda.
Jackson, a Biden appointee and one of three liberal justices on the high court, wrote that immigration laws require federal courts to use a "substantial-evidence standard" when reviewing immigration judges’ decisions about whether an asylum seeker could face "persecution" if deported.
Jackson emphasized the high bar courts must meet before overturning an immigration judge’s findings, potentially making it more difficult for migrants to challenge their deportations as the Trump administration cracks down on illegal immigration.
"The agency’s determination… is generally ‘conclusive unless any reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to conclude to the contrary,’" Jackson wrote.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, migrants can claim asylum when crossing the border without documentation. But immigration judges, who are employees of the Department of Justice, eventually vet those claims and determine whether to grant migrants asylum, which would allow them to stay in the country, or order their deportation.
The migrant can appeal the decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals, which is also housed within the executive branch, and can then appeal that decision to the federal circuit courts and the Supreme Court.
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