The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an application by three Democrat-run cities to restore a Biden-era rule that would postpone deportations of illegal aliens.
The unsigned order, in the case of City of Baltimore v. Texas, had no noted dissents and left in place lower court rulings denying the cities’ request for interim relief.
At issue was a Biden administration “administrative closure” policy, adopted in 2024, that allowed immigration judges discretion to suspend deportation proceedings to allow a crime victim or witness to seek relief, such as asylum. Immigration judges are employees of the Justice Department, not part of the federal judiciary.
Texas challenged the rule in June, arguing it was part of the “Biden-Harris Administration’s campaign to undermine our immigration laws,” SCOTUSblog reported. President Donald Trump’s Justice Department did not contest the lawsuit in court.
In August, three cities with Democrat mayors—Baltimore, New Haven, Connecticut, and Columbus, Ohio—filed an emergency motion to intervene and defend the federal policy. They were joined by immigration advocacy group Centro Legal de la Raza.
Joshua Salzman, of the liberal group Democracy Forward, argued against permitting the consent agreement. Democracy Forward has represented dozens of lawsuits against the Trump administration and its chairman is Democrat election lawyer Marc Elias.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor sided with Texas, rejecting the cities based on standing. The 5th Circuit also denied their request to block the consent judgment while their appeal continued.
On Oct. 9, the challengers made an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, calling the policy shift “egregious collusion” between the Justice Department and Texas.
Brandon Scott is the mayor of Baltimore. Justin Elicker is the New Haven mayor. Andrew Ginther is the Columbus mayor.
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[ H/T The Daily Signal ]
