WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court announced Monday that it would take up two cases related to President Trump’s immigration policies, including his construction of the border wall.
The first case, Trump v. Sierra Club, addresses whether the commander-in-chief acted unconstitutionally when he circumvented Congress in February 2019 and directed $2.5 billion of Department of Defense funding be redirected to the construction of his wall on the Mexico-U.S. border.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in June ruled that the Trump administration had acted illegally, handing a win to the Sierra Club, an environmental organization that is trying to block the building of the wall.
The Supreme Court in July refused to block the Trump administration’s use of military funds to finance construction but on Monday announced it would hear the ongoing case.
The high court on Monday also agreed to hear another Ninth Circuit decision which ruled illegal the president’s decision to send asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims for protection are considered.
Wolf v. Innovation Law Lab alleges that Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy violates the United States’ duty under international human rights law to not return asylum seekers to dangerous conditions.
The Supreme Court has taken center stage in the presidential election race as Trump tries to confirm his conservative nominee to the court, Amy Coney Barrett, just weeks before Americans head to the polls.
Barrett would fill the seat vacated by liberal icon Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who died last month at the age of 87.