US Supreme Court opens door to Trump-era asylum metering at Mexico border

Washington,UPDATED: Jun 25, 2026 20:02 IST

The US Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Trump administration to potentially revive a border policy that had been used to turn back migrants seeking asylum at the US-Mexico border. The ruling overturned a lower court order that had blocked the practice, known as metering, which limited the number of people allowed to apply for asylum each day.

The policy is not in force at present, though other restrictions on asylum seekers remain. The administration has argued that metering is an important tool that has been used by presidents from both parties, while advocates have said it led to a humanitarian crisis as thousands of people were left waiting in unsafe makeshift shelters for their turn.

Under US federal law, migrants who arrive in the country must be allowed to apply for asylum and be screened for fear of persecution in their home countries. The Justice Department argued that people stopped by authorities had not technically arrived, and so immigration agents were not required to let them apply. Lawyers for asylum seekers, however, said the law has long been understood to mean that anyone arriving at a port of entry should be screened, and that blocking arrivals went against the nation’s ideals.

Metering was first used during Barack Obama’s presidency when large numbers of Haitians appeared at the main crossing to San Diego from Tijuana, Mexico. It was later expanded to all border crossings from Mexico during Donald Trump’s first term. The policy ended in 2020 when the government introduced wider restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, and President Joe Biden formally rescinded it in 2021.

Also in 2021, a California-based federal judge ruled that metering violated the rights of asylum seekers and the law requiring screening. A divided appeals court panel upheld that ruling, though nearly half the judges on the full San Francisco-based court voted to rehear the case. The matter is one of several immigration cases before the Supreme Court this term, including Trump’s push to restrict birthright citizenship and the administration’s effort to end temporary legal protections for migrants fleeing instability and armed conflict.

US law allows people seeking refuge to apply for asylum once they are on American soil, whether or not they entered legally. Those granted asylum cannot be deported and can work legally, bring in immediate family, apply for legal residency and seek citizenship. Thursday’s ruling keeps open the possibility of bringing back metering, a policy that has remained at the centre of a long legal and political dispute over asylum at the border.

With PTI Inputs

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