U.S. Supreme Court Backs Trump Administration In Muk Choi Lau Green Card Parole Case

The U.S. Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration on Tuesday in an immigration case involving the government’s power over green card holders, ruling 6-3 in a dispute over whether an immigration officer could place lawful permanent resident Muk Choi Lau on immigration parole after he returned from a trip to China in 2012.

“The United States Supreme Court has sided with the Trump administration in a case concerning the government’s power over green card holders, a blow to due-process protections for migrants with legal status”

Al Jazeera

NBC News reported that the decision centered on a 2012 immigration officers’ decision to put Lau on immigration parole because he had been accused of a counterfeiting crime, and that the deportation proceedings were set in motion after he pleaded guilty to selling counterfeit clothes in New Jersey.

Al Jazeera

In the opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote, “Border officers did not have the burden to establish by clear and convincing evidence that Lau had committed a crime involving moral turpitude,” while Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented and warned, “I worry that the Court has now handed the Government a massive blank check.”

Al Jazeera described the ruling as a “blow to due-process protections for migrants with legal status,” and said the case left people in “immigration limbo” before conviction.

The dispute, Al Jazeera said, involved Lau being placed on immigration parole over criminal allegations after reentering the country following a trip abroad, even though he had not yet been convicted of a crime.

In a separate move, the Trump administration announced on Friday that foreign nationals legally residing in the United States who are seeking to obtain the green card would have to leave the country and apply from their home countries, a change described as sparking confusion and concern among relief groups, immigration lawyers, and migrants.

The Al Sharq للأخبار article said USCIS stated that foreigners living in the United States temporarily who wish to become lawful permanent residents or green card holders must return to their home countries to apply, except for what it calls extraordinary circumstances.

NBC News

It quoted Doug Rand, a former senior adviser at USCIS during the Biden administration, saying, “the goal of this policy is clear,” and that senior officials want to reduce the number of people obtaining permanent residency because it represents a path to citizenship.

The article also reported that World Relief said informing families that a member who is not a citizen must return to their home country to complete the immigration visa process, “creates a real dilemma,” and that the policies would effectively separate family members for an indefinite period.

USCIS did not specify when the change would take effect, and the article said USCIS told the Associated Press it would likely allow people who provide economic benefit or national interest to remain in the United States while processing their applications.

NBC News said the Supreme Court decision comes as the high court considers a series of immigration-related issues against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown, while noting that this case started before Trump took office.

“In a surprising shift in U”

Al-Sharq lil-Akhbar

NBC News reported that the court is also considering cases over Trump’s push to end birthright citizenship, potentially revive a restrictive asylum policy, and end temporary legal protections for migrants fleeing war and natural disasters in their homelands.

Al Jazeera framed the Tuesday ruling as strengthening the government’s ability to place green card holders on immigration parole based on allegations, and said the Trump administration argued that suspicion of a crime is enough to strip green card holders of their legal status.

The Al Sharq للأخبار article added that USCIS said the change returns to the original aim of the law and closes what it described as a legal loophole, while immigration lawyers and relief organizations rejected that interpretation.

It also said USCIS quoted Doug Rand that the administration wants to close the path to as many people as possible, and that about 600,000 people inside the United States apply for green cards annually.