Supreme Court to Rule on Trump Asylum Ban at Border
On Friday 13 November 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide one of the biggest questions in American immigration law: whether President Donald Trump had the authority to suspend asylum at the southern border with a single executive order on his first day back in office.
The case, Mullin v. RAICES, will test the limits of presidential power over immigration. The justices are expected to hear arguments in spring 2027 and hand down a decision by the end of June 2027. It is the third major immigration case the Court will hear this term — and its answer will shape the border for years.
What the Court Decided
The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to consider President Trump's ban on asylum at the southern border, a pillar of his far-reaching crackdown on immigration. The Trump administration is asking the justices to overturn lower court decisions that found it was illegal to block asylum applications following the executive order.
The Court's decision to take the case does not mean it has decided who is right. It means the nine justices believe the question is important enough — and disputed enough — to need their answer. The case will be argued in the spring, and a decision is expected before the Court's term ends in June 2027.
The Order at the Centre
The policy at issue is Proclamation 10888, titled "Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion," which President Trump signed on 20 January 2025, hours into his second term. The proclamation declared an "invasion" at the southern border and invoked Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act — a provision that allows the president to suspend the entry of noncitizens when he finds their entry would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.
Under the proclamation, people who crossed the southern border between designated ports of entry were largely barred from applying for asylum or other humanitarian relief. It was one of a series of immigration restrictions Trump rolled out on his return to office in 2025, and it has remained in place throughout the litigation that followed.
The question the Court will answer is a narrow one with wide consequences: can a presidential proclamation effectively prevent certain people from entering the country and claiming asylum, including the lesser protection known as withholding of removal?
How the Case Got Here
Immigrant rights groups — including RAICES (the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services) and the American Civil Liberties Union — challenged the proclamation almost immediately. A federal judge in Washington ruled that the restrictions were unlawful and set them aside.
In April 2026, a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld that decision, ruling that the proclamation and the guidance carrying it out exceeded the president's authority. The administration then asked the Supreme Court to intervene, filing its petition for certiorari in late August 2026. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that the president has broad authority to bar entry under federal immigration laws and constitutional powers.
On 13 November 2026, the Court granted the petition. The case is now titled Mullin v. RAICES, after the Secretary of Homeland Security, and it will be argued before the full bench.
The Administration's Argument
The administration's case rests on the breadth of presidential power at the border. Federal law, it argues, gives the president wide authority to suspend the entry of noncitizens, and the president should be able to deny asylum categorically to migrants covered by the order rather than accept applications that are destined to be rejected.
Officials also argue the ban works. James Percival, general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a post on X that the order was "the single most important factor in the President's success at the border." Federal attorneys add that years-long processing times had previously encouraged more people to come, because many were released into the country while they waited for a decision.
For the administration, the proclamation is the centrepiece of its border policy — and the Court's decision will determine whether that centrepiece stands.
The Challengers' Argument
The challengers' case rests on a different law: the Refugee Act of 1980, passed by Congress, which gives people the right to seek asylum if they fear persecution in their home countries — no matter how they arrived in the United States. The ACLU argues that the order illegally bypasses those protections, and that a president cannot rewrite by proclamation what Congress wrote by statute.
Immigration attorneys at the ACLU and the National Immigrant Justice Center also dispute the administration's account of why border crossings fell. They point out that crossings were already falling before Trump took office — and argue that the ban was not the cause of the decline the administration claims for it.
Put simply, the challengers say the president can decide whether to grant asylum, but he cannot decide that nobody gets to ask.
What the Ruling Could Decide
The Court's ruling will settle whether Section 212(f) — the provision the president relied on — allows a categorical suspension of asylum, or whether Congress's asylum protections limit that power. If the Court sides with the administration, the ban stands, and future presidents will have a confirmed tool for shutting down asylum processing by proclamation. If it sides with the challengers, the ban falls, and the administration will have to process asylum claims at the border again.
Either way, the decision will reach beyond this one proclamation. It will define how much of immigration policy a president can make alone, and how much must go through Congress — a question that has been at the centre of American politics for a decade.
It is also worth noting what the Court has already done in this area. Earlier in 2026, the justices allowed the administration to reimplement a policy of turning away asylum-seekers along the U.S.-Mexico border before they enter the country — a practice known as "metering." That decision, and this one, are separate cases, but they point in the same direction: the Court is being asked, again and again, to draw the line between presidential power and the rights Congress has written into law.
Timeline
- 20 January 2025: President Trump signs Proclamation 10888 on his first day back in office, declaring an "invasion" at the southern border and suspending asylum for those who cross between ports of entry.
- 2025: RAICES, the ACLU and allied groups file legal challenges. A federal judge in Washington rules the restrictions unlawful.
- April 2026: a divided three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit upholds the district court, ruling the proclamation exceeded the president's authority.
- 2026: the Supreme Court separately allows the administration to reimplement "metering" at the border.
- Late August 2026: the administration files its petition asking the Supreme Court to hear the case.
- 13 November 2026: the Supreme Court grants certiorari in Mullin v. RAICES.
- Spring 2027: oral arguments are expected before the justices.
- By end of June 2027: a decision is expected, before the Court's term ends.
Until the Court rules, the ban stays in place — as it has throughout the litigation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the Supreme Court decide on 13 November 2026?
The Court agreed to consider President Trump's ban on asylum at the southern border. It granted certiorari in the case Mullin v. RAICES, meaning it will hear the Trump administration's appeal against lower court rulings that found the ban unlawful.
What is the asylum ban?
Proclamation 10888, signed on 20 January 2025, declared an 'invasion' at the southern border and suspended entry for people crossing between designated ports of entry, largely barring them from applying for asylum or other humanitarian relief.
What is Section 212(f)?
Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows the president to suspend the entry of noncitizens when he finds their entry would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. The administration relied on it for the proclamation; the challengers say it does not override the asylum protections Congress passed in the Refugee Act of 1980.
Who challenged the asylum ban?
Immigrant rights groups including RAICES (the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services), the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigrant Justice Center.
What did the lower courts say?
A federal judge in Washington ruled the restrictions unlawful, and in April 2026 a divided three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit upheld that decision, ruling that the proclamation exceeded the president's authority.
When will the Supreme Court hear the case?
Oral arguments are expected in spring 2027, with some reports pointing to March 2027. A decision is expected by the end of June 2027, before the Court's term ends.
Does the asylum ban stay in place while the case is heard?
Yes. The ban has remained in place throughout the litigation, and it stays in effect until the Supreme Court rules.
What happens if the Court upholds the ban?
The ban would stand, and the administration's power to suspend asylum processing by proclamation would be confirmed. If the Court strikes it down, the administration would have to process asylum claims at the border again.
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Sources
- Associated Press (via Tri-City Record) — Supreme Court will consider Trump's executive order suspending asylum access at the southern border — AP report of 13 November 2026: the Court agreed to consider the order; arguments expected in the spring, decision by the end of June.
- Associated Press (via Tampa Bay 28) — Supreme Court to decide whether Trump can ban asylum applications at the border — the administration's and the ACLU's arguments, and the fact the ban has remained in place during litigation.
- OSV News (via The Catholic Telegraph) — Supreme Court takes up Trump ban on asylum claims at US-Mexico border — the DHS general counsel's statement, the earlier 'metering' decision and the legal questions before the Court.
- Political.org — Supreme Court Agrees to Review Trump's Border Asylum Ban — Proclamation 10888, the April 2026 D.C. Circuit ruling and the August 2026 certiorari petition.
The case is Mullin v. RAICES. Arguments are expected in spring 2027; the exact argument date had not been set when this article was published on 14 November 2026.