Supreme Court declines to restore a rule that let immigration judges pause some deportation cases

On October 27, the Supreme Court denied an emergency request in City of Baltimore v. Texas (No. 26A500). The request came from three cities and a legal services organization. It asked the Court to put on hold a federal district court’s judgment that threw out a 2024 regulation of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). That regulation allowed immigration judges to use “administrative closure” to pause some removal cases, for example so that a crime victim or witness could seek relief from USCIS. SCOTUSblog reports that Texas sued in June in Wichita Falls, Texas, and that Texas and the Justice Department asked the judge for a final judgment within hours of the lawsuit being filed. Chief U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor granted it the same day, threw out the rule, and barred EOIR from adopting a similar one. He later denied the cities’ and the organization’s request to join the case, finding that they lacked standing, and the Fifth Circuit declined to block his judgment. The challengers described the arrangement between Texas and the Justice Department as collusion. The government argued that the challengers were using a dispute over joining the case to attack the merits. The Supreme Court’s order was brief and unsigned, gave no reasons, and had no noted dissents.

What this may mean: Because the Court did not step in, the district court’s judgment stays in place for now, and immigration judges cannot rely on this rule to pause cases. The order does not decide whether the rule was lawful, and the case is not over. If you have a case in immigration court and are waiting on a decision from USCIS or another agency, speak with an attorney promptly about what options remain, and never skip a hearing.

Sources: SCOTUSblog · SCOTUSblog: case page · Supreme Court docket (No. 26A500)

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