US Supreme Court denies immigration judges' power to shelve deportation cases

Baltimore: Baltimore is a city in Maryland with a substantial immigrant population. It joined New Haven and Columbus in legal efforts to intervene and revive the administrative closure rule after a federal judge approved the agreement blocking it. The Supreme Court decision leaves the cities' challenge to the underlying litigation pending. Donald Trump: Donald Trump is the President of the United States. His administration jointly filed an agreement with Texas that ended the Biden-era regulation permitting administrative closure of certain deportation cases. The move advances the administration's approach of restricting practices viewed as granting indefinite relief from removal. US Supreme Court: The US Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States with final authority over constitutional and federal legal questions. It declined an emergency request by Baltimore and other parties to halt implementation of an agreement ending administrative closure in immigration cases. The one-sentence order leaves in place the nationwide bar on the practice while related litigation continues. Policy Shift: The Biden administration's 2024 regulation formally codified administrative closure before the Trump administration declined to defend it against legal challenge. Supreme Court Procedure: The Court issued its decision as a brief, one-sentence order with no explanation or noted dissents, which is standard for emergency applications. Immigration Court Practice: Administrative closure had been used for decades by immigration judges to manage caseloads in cases with overlapping proceedings, such as visa petitions or criminal appeals.