WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration in a dispute about whether the administration and Texas engaged in an "egregious collusion" to scrap a Biden-era immigration regulation.
The court, in a brief and unsigned opinion on Oct. 27, declined to immediately restore the regulation, which allowed immigration judges to suspend some deportation proceedings. None of the justices publicly dissented.
Three cities with substantial immigrant populations and a group that provides legal services to immigrants said the administration is trying to get around the federal rules for repealing a regulation. Instead of proposing a change and seeking public comment, the cities said, the administration backed a legal challenge to the rule by
Texas.
When the cities − Baltimore, Maryland; New Haven, Connecticut; and Columbus, Ohio – and Centro Legal de la Raza asked a federal judge in Texas to let them defend the policy since the federal government would not, the judge said they lacked a legal right to get involved.
In an emergency request, the challengers asked the Supreme Court to put the policy back into effect while they appeal the judge’s ruling. They said the abrupt policy change could affect hundreds of thousands of immigration cases, including those involving people eligible for lawful status.
"Rather than follow the law and allow the public to be heard, the Department of Justice colluded with Texas to erase longstanding immigration procedures in a single day, putting families, survivors of violence, and entire communities at risk," said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which is representing the challengers.
The Justice Department argued that because a federal judge ruled that the legal-services group and the cities can’t defend the rule in court, they also can’t ask the Supreme Court to get involved before that ruling is potentially overturned through their ongoing appeal.
"This Court should not allow applicants to put the cart before the horse," the government told the justices in a filing.
The Justice Department also said the challengers' assertions of the number of immigrants who will be affected without immediate intervention is speculative.
Under the rule adopted in 2024, immigration judges can pause deportation proceedings under certain circumstances, including when a crime victim or witness is helping law enforcement investigate or prosecute a crime.
The cities say the rule codified immigration court procedures that existed in some form for decades but that have become controversial. Critics say the procedures are a form of amnesty.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Supreme Court sides with Trump in deportation rules fight
