Liberal Justice Joins Trump Administration in Deportation Battle
In a rare move, one of the Supreme Court’s most liberal members sided with the administration of President Donald Trump on a critical immigration case.
Justice Elena Kagan rejected an emergency request from four Mexican nationals seeking to block their deportation so they could pursue another appeal.
“The petitioners, Fabian Lagunas Espinoza, Maria Angelica Flores Ulloa, and their two sons, were ordered to report to immigration officials on Thursday. Their legal team argued they face cartel violence if returned to Mexico,” the report said.
According to filings, the family claimed they fled Guerrero, Mexico, in 2021 after receiving death threats from the Los Rojos cartel. Court documents said cartel members gave them 24 hours to vacate their home or face execution.
Despite their testimony and submitted evidence, an immigration judge denied their appeal. The Board of Immigration Appeals upheld that ruling in November 2023, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed it in February 2025.
Attorney LeRoy George argued in a petition to the Court:
“Petitioners face imminent removal and have been directed to report to immigration office on 4/17/2025, despite credible and detailed testimony and documentary evidence showing they are targets of cartel violence due to their family ties and refusal to comply with extortion demands.”
Kagan could have chosen to refer the matter to the full Court but instead acted on her own, denying the migrants’ bid to remain in the U.S. without offering an explanation.
Broader Legal Clash Over Deportations
Meanwhile, controversy continues over a separate immigration case involving deported MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Fox News legal analyst Kerri Urbahn told “Fox & Friends” that U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s handling of the case reflected “embarrassment” after the Supreme Court stripped the matter from his jurisdiction.
“So this is an interesting situation. You know, I’m not surprised we’re here because this judge seemed determined from the outset to hold him in contempt. Frankly, Brian, when I was reading the decision yesterday, I felt like it seemed a little desperate. I think the guy is embarrassed,” Urbahn said.
She noted Boasberg had made the dispute “very public” and might have expected Chief Justice John Roberts to back him after Roberts issued a statement cautioning Trump and others not to criticize judges.
“But the Supreme Court didn’t support him,” Urbahn explained. “They vacated his order. Finding – this should have been heard in Texas. Not before you in D.C., Judge Boasberg.”
According to Urbahn, the Department of Justice countered that Boasberg’s order was never valid in the first place. “The fact he is saying now I’m going to hold you in contempt… however you can cure [it] and it by the way that’s where it gets interesting, Brian. The way he is saying they can get rid of this potential contempt situation is by complying with what the Supreme Court told them to do… [It’s] a little strange,” she added.
Bottom Line
With liberal Justice Kagan siding with President Trump’s administration in one immigration case and the Supreme Court overruling a lower court judge in another, it is clear the administration’s immigration enforcement policies continue to prevail—even against long odds and activist resistance.