In a blockbuster decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled last Thursday that the government can fast-track deportations of asylum seekers without first allowing them to have their cases heard in court.
The lopsided ruling (7-2) is a major victory for the Trump administration, which has been relying on a law passed in 1996, permitting asylum decisions to be made without review by the federal courts.
The case before the Court involved a Sri Lanka asylum seeker, Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam, who said he had been abducted by men working for the Sri Lanka government, blindfolded, transported in a van he believed to be owned by the government and beaten senseless.
The ACLU took Thuraissigiam’s case and appealed the asylum officer’s decision, arguing that the 1996 law is unconstitutional and that everyone is entitled to their day in court.
Although disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision, ACLU attorneys say it only applies to people seeking asylum at the border.
