This week, the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) denied an illegal immigrant’s appeal against deportation before a federal appellate court, ruling 5-4 against him.
Pankajkumar Patel, an Indian national who came to the United States with his wife in the 1990s, applied for a discretionary change of status with the USCIS department in 2007. Green cards would have been given to Patel and his spouse had their adjustment of status been approved.
The USCIS rejected Patel’s application after determining that he falsely claimed to be an American citizen on a Georgia driver’s license form. When the federal government tried to deport Patel and his wife years later, he reapplied for US residency and claimed before a federal immigration judge that he was mistaken in checking the “citizen” box on his Georgia driver’s license application.
Patel petitioned the federal immigration judge to allow him to remain in the United States, but he was denied and compelled to leave. The Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed his appeal after he lost his case at the federal court.
After filing his appeal, Patel asked the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to rule on his case. When they found that they had no jurisdiction in the matter, they sought judicial review from SCOTUS to determine whether federal courts have the power to intervene in deportation proceedings.
The conservative majority of the Supreme Court, including Chief Justice John Roberts, joined Barrett in support. Justices Alito, Kavanaugh, and Thomas were also on hand to express their support for Barrett. The dissenting view was written by libertarian-leaning justice Neil Gorsuch and joined by the liberals on the bench, Justices Breyer, Kagan, and Sotomayor
Immigration has been at record highs in recent years, and the Biden Administration has been vocal in its support for both legal and illegal immigration. The Supreme Court’s decision today is a victory for American citizens and will make it easier to deport immigrants if they break our laws.
Of course Democrats will always kick and scream at the idea of illegal immigration being slowed down as they push with all their might to achieve a white minority.