The blow landed quietly, but its consequences are profound. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court made it significantly harder for asylum seekers to overturn deportation orders. Federal judges are now largely bound to accept immigration courts’ findings unless the evidence is overwhelmingly compelling. The ruling establishes a rigid hierarchy in the U.S. asylum system. Immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) now serve as the primary decision-makers, while federal appeals courts are confined to narrow legal review. Overturning a BIA decision requires evidence “so compelling that no reasonable factfinder could disagree,” setting an exceptionally high bar for...
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