Supreme Court agrees to review Trump's asylum restrictions
Where it stands
The Supreme Court granted certiorari in No. 26-239, limited to the legality of Proclamation 10888 and its implementing guidance and whether 8 U.S.C. 1252(f)(1) bars the classwide relief. The Court did not grant review of the petition's third question about the class definition. No merits judgment has issued.
Sources reviewed: Nov 13, 2026 · 5:01 PM EST
The Supreme Court agreed November 13 to review the Trump administration's restrictions on asylum access at the southern border. Its order in Mullin v.
Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services grants the government's petition only on the first two questions presented: whether Proclamation 10888 and its implementing guidance are lawful, and whether 8 U.S.C. 1252(f)(1) bars the classwide relief entered by the district court.
The grant is a decision to hear the appeal, not a ruling that the administration or challengers have won. It does not itself reverse the D.C. Circuit or resolve the legality of the proclamation.
The response.
The administration argues that the President lawfully suspended entry and can categorically deny asylum to people covered by the proclamation, making applications futile, and that federal law bars the classwide injunction. At 3:00 p.m. EST, the ACLU and co-counsel said they would defend the lower-court result, arguing that the proclamation overrides protections Congress enacted; lead counsel Lee Gelernt said they looked forward to presenting the case. That statement is the challengers' advocacy, not a Supreme Court finding. The D.C. Circuit upheld the district court's ruling that the proclamation and guidance were unlawful insofar as they supplanted the Immigration and Nationality Act's removal framework, but the appellate court largely stayed relief while review continued. Reuters reports that the restrictions therefore remain operative while the Supreme Court case proceeds. Oral argument has not yet occurred, and no merits ruling is expected until after briefing and argument.
Dates & scope
Source publication: Nov 13, 2026 · 3:05 PM EST
Event or conduct: 2026-11-13.
Full chronology and review notes
Trump signed Proclamation 10888 on January 20, 2025, and it was published January 29. The district court entered judgment July 2, 2025. The D.C. Circuit ruled April 24, 2026, and denied rehearing July 23. The government filed its certiorari petition August 24. The Supreme Court granted review November 13, limited to Questions 1 and 2. Reuters published its report at 1:52 p.m. EST. The challengers published a response at 3:00 p.m. The Ledger reviewed the order, current docket, petition and reporting at 3:05 p.m. and added the challengers' response after a 5:01 p.m. review. These are distinct event, filing, publication and review dates.
This is a dated report. The source-review time records when the linked sources were checked; it is not a live update.
Coverage is non-exhaustive. Our source-review standards →
Open the original record.
- Supreme Court of the United States: Miscellaneous order granting certiorari in No. 26-239 ↗
Primary November 13 order granting the petition only as to Questions 1 and 2. The order contains no merits ruling and does not grant review of Question 3.
- Supreme Court of the United States: Docket for No. 26-239, Mullin v. RAICES ↗
Current official docket confirming the November 13 grant, the D.C. Circuit case number, the April 24 decision, the July 23 rehearing denial and the August 24 petition.
- Solicitor General: Petition for a writ of certiorari in Mullin v. RAICES ↗
Primary August 24 petition stating all three questions presented and the administration's legal position. The Supreme Court granted review only on Questions 1 and 2.
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit: RAICES v. Mullin opinion ↗
Primary April 24 lower-court opinion affirming the district court's summary judgment and class certification as clarified by an earlier stay panel. The Supreme Court's certiorari grant does not itself reverse this judgment.
- Reuters: Supreme Court will weigh Trump's asylum restrictions at US-Mexico border ↗
Published November 13 at 1:52 p.m. EST; reports the policy's operation, the challengers' claims, the lower-court posture, the existing stay and the expected argument and decision timetable.
- ACLU of the District of Columbia: Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Trump Proclamation Eliminating Asylum ↗
Published November 13 at 3:00 p.m. EST; gives the challengers' response to the certiorari grant and says argument is expected in spring 2027. It is an advocacy statement, not a court disposition.
Keep following this record
The Pardon Ledger is a free email digest: new clemency grants and money entries, each with its sources, the response on record, and what changed.
Read a sample: Whose names are on the filings ↗