Trump Admin Gets Another Immigration Win At Supreme Court-0311
The U.S. Supreme Court has given President Donald Trump and his administration another critical immigration win. In the case of Urias-Orellana v. Bondi, the justices ruled in favor of the federal government.
Douglas Humberto Urias-Orellana, his wife, Sayra Iliana Gamez-Mejia, and their child fled El Salvador in 2021 because they were afraid of violence. They applied for asylum in the United States.
Urias-Orellana said that the family should get asylum because a hitman, or sicario, was after them in El Salvador and had already killed two of his half-brothers. He said that people who worked for this sicario had asked him for money many times and had even attacked him once.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, wrote that federal courts of appeals must use a deferential standard of review when deciding whether asylum seekers have faced the level of persecution needed to qualify for asylum protections.
The Immigration and Nationality Act says that immigration judges look at whether applicants came to the U.S. because of “persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”
For Urias-Orellana, a judge said that his experiences did not meet this standard, in part because the family had moved within El Salvador to avoid danger in the past. After this decision, the family’s lawyers asked the Board of Immigration Appeals to look into it.
The board, on the other hand, upheld the judge’s decision on persecution and the order of removal in 2023. “If the BIA denies an asylum claim, asylum seekers can ask a federal court of appeals to review it. The family did what they were asked to do, which led to the Supreme Court case. SCOTUS Blog said, “The justices agreed to settle a disagreement between the federal courts of appeals over what standard of review the courts should use when reviewing a persecution determination.”
The court said on Wednesday that the INA says that appellate courts must use the relatively lenient substantial-evidence standard. Jackson said in the court’s ruling that the BIA’s decision can only be reversed “if, in reviewing the record as a whole, any reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to conclude to the contrary.”
Jackson said that the part of the INA that matters “does not use the phrase ‘substantial evidence.'” She went on to say, though, that many other parts of the law “truncate[] the court’s review,” including Section 1252(b)(4)(B), which says that “the administrative findings of fact are conclusive unless any reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to conclude to the contrary.”
Jackson wrote that the country’s highest court has already said that this subsection “prescribe[s] a deferential, ‘substantial-evidence standard’ for review of agency factual findings.”
According to Jackson, the Supreme Court’s decision on Wednesday also strengthened its 1992 decision in INS v. Elias-Zacarias, in which most of the justices said that “to obtain judicial reversal” of the agency’s persecution determination, an asylum applicant “must show that the evidence he presented was so compelling that no reasonable factfinder could fail to find the requisite fear of persecution.”
Jackson said in her ruling that “Congress amended the INA shortly after” that decision, adding what is now Section 1252(b)(4)(B). “Those amendments … codified the Elias-Zacarias standard,” not rejected it.
She said that the law says courts must uphold those findings unless the evidence clearly shows that they are wrong.
Jackson wrote, “The agency’s decision is generally ‘conclusive unless any reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to conclude to the contrary.'”
Jackson said that “the force of Elias-Zacarias and [the statutes’] enactment history” meant that the substantial-evidence standard had to apply, according to SCOTUS Blog.
My Husband Left Me in Rags for His Mistress. He Didn't Know My Billionaire Father Owned the Gala.
He took his mistress to the most prestigious gala in the city and left me standing in an old evening dress, then looked me in the eye and said, ""You'll only embarrass me."" He thought humiliating me would be the end of the story. He had no idea that one phone call I'd kept hidden for three years was about to shake everything he had built.
""You really planned to wear that?""
My husband's voice drifted up from the front entrance, cold enough to make my hands tremble. I stood frozen in front of the bedroom mirror, staring at the navy dress I had treasured since before we got married. The fabric was still elegant, but time had begun to show along the sleeves. I smoothed them anyway, hoping they looked less obvious.
Outside, Spencer Reed stepped out of his black SUV looking like the perfect CEO, every inch polished and confident. From the hallway, I heard our housekeeper, Mrs. Evelyn, gently ask if she should tell me it was time to come downstairs.
""There isn't any reason,"" Spencer answered without hesitation. ""Paisley's coming with me.""
His words hit harder than a slap.
I walked to the window and watched him adjust his cuff links without even glancing toward the house. Three years of marriage... and somehow I still kept convincing myself that if I stayed humble enough, patient enough, invisible enough, he would eventually love me.
I was wrong.
The sound of high heels echoed through the marble foyer.
Paisley Dawson slipped beside him wearing a shimmering gold gown that looked like it belonged on a magazine cover. Around her neck sparkled a diamond necklace that cost more than I had probably spent on myself during our entire marriage.
She smiled sweetly before looking me up and down.
""So... you're the wife.""
Her eyes paused on my worn sleeves, and she laughed softly.
""Now I understand why Spencer never brings you anywhere.""
I waited.
Surely my husband would say something.
Anything.
Instead, he smiled at her.
""You look incredible.""
The room suddenly felt colder.
Paisley rested her hand possessively on his arm.
""The Apex Group charity gala isn't a place for someone dressed like... that,"" she said. ""Tonight will be filled with CEOs, senators, investors—people who actually matter. You'd only make Spencer look bad.""
Every word was carefully chosen to wound.
I turned to Spencer, refusing to let them see the anger building inside me.
He didn't defend me.
He didn't deny her words.
He simply offered Paisley his arm.
""We're late.""
That was all.
I stood silently as the front door closed behind them. A few seconds later, the SUV disappeared through the gates, its taillights fading into the evening.
Mrs. Evelyn quietly walked over and touched my arm.
""I'm so sorry, Mrs. Reed. Would you like me to make you some dinner?""
I forced a faint smile.
""No... thank you.""
I climbed the stairs alone and shut the bedroom door behind me. Through the window I could see the skyline where tonight's gala was already beginning, lights glowing above the city like another world I was never meant to enter.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message.
Unknown number.
When I opened it, my stomach dropped.
It was a selfie from the back seat of Spencer's SUV.
Paisley leaned against him with a smug grin, flashing a peace sign while Spencer's reflection appeared beside her in the window.
Below the photo she had written:
""By the time tonight is over, he'll belong to me completely. Have fun waiting at home.""
I didn't cry.
Instead, I walked to my vanity, opened the lowest drawer, and pulled out a small red velvet box I hadn't touched in three years.
Inside rested a SIM card.
The one I promised myself I'd never need again.
I slipped it into my phone.
Only one contact appeared.
Dad.
My thumb hovered over the screen before I finally pressed Call.
One ring.
Two.
Three.
Then I heard the voice I hadn't allowed myself to hear since I walked away from my family.
""Phoebe?""
His voice sounded older... but the concern was still there.
My throat tightened.
""Dad...""
For a moment I couldn't speak.
Then the words finally escaped.
""I want to come home.""
Silence.
Long enough to make my heart pound.
Finally, my father—Raymond Harrell, the billionaire whose name could open almost any door in the country—answered with a voice trembling from emotion.
""My little girl...""
Another pause.
""I'm coming to get you.""
In that instant, everything changed.
Spencer believed tonight would elevate his empire.
He had no idea the most powerful man he'd ever unknowingly offended was already on his way.
