Supreme Court rules immigrants who fear torture can appeal deportations in court

[babylonsister]

Supreme Court rules immigrants who fear torture can appeal deportations in court
By Harper Neidig - 06/01/20 11:36 AM EDT


Immigrants who are at risk of being tortured if they're returned to their home countries can challenge deportations in federal appeals court, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday.

In a 7-2 decision, the high court rejected the Trump administration's argument that foreigners tagged for deportation have no right to judicial review if their request for relief under the international Convention Against Torture (CAT) is denied.

The decision will allow immigrants who have been convicted of a crime and designated for deportation to make factual challenges in court when the Department of Justice's Board of Immigration Appeals decides that they do not qualify for deportation protection under CAT.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote a brief 13-page opinion for the majority, dismissing the government's arguments that the law passed by Congress that implements CAT protections prevents potential deportees from going to court.

"It would be easy enough for Congress to preclude judicial review of factual challenges to CAT orders, just as Congress has precluded judicial review of factual challenges to certain final orders of removal," Kavanaugh wrote. "But Congress has not done so, and it is not the proper role of the courts to rewrite the laws passed by Congress and signed by the President."

more...

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/500452-supreme-court-rules-immigrants-who-fear-torture-can-appeal

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Kavanaugh is turning out to be a little more of a mixed bag

than we expected, though I'm certainly not a fan. I still maintain that Thomas and Alito are the worst of the bunch, and that Rehnquist was worse than anybody.