⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

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Noem v. Al Otro Lado — SCOTUS (argued March 24, 2026)

No. 25-5 Argued March 24, 2026 Published July 22, 2026; updated August 19, 2026

The Supreme Court considers whether asylum seekers stopped just outside the U.S.-Mexico border have arrived in the United States under federal immigration law. Under a practice called metering, border officers turned people away from ports of entry before they crossed the boundary. Al Otro Lado says federal law requires inspection and asylum processing at the threshold; the government says those duties begin only after entry. The Court later ruled six to three for the government: a person standing in Mexico has not arrived in the United States.

Noem v. Al Otro Lado (No. 25-5) — Supreme Court of the United States, argued March 24, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — Supreme Court of the United States:https://www.supremecourt.gov/media/audio/mp3files/25-5.mp3
Argument transcript — Supreme Court of the United States:https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2025/25-5_d1o2.pdf
Case docket — Supreme Court of the United States:https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/25-5.html
Brief for the federal officials:https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25/25-5/390940/20260106152523401_25-5AlOtroLadoPetBr.pdf
Brief for Al Otro Lado:https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25/25-5/395932/20260210135039024_No%2025-5%20Noem%20v%20Al%20Otro%20Lado%20Respondents%20Merits%20Brief%20to%20Printer.pdf
Decision — Supreme Court of the United States:https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25-5_86qd.pdf
Vivek Suri — U.S. Department of Justice:https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-pamela-bondi-announces-award-recipients-us-department-justice-73rd-annual
Kelsi Brown Corkran — Georgetown Law:https://www.law.georgetown.edu/icap/our-team/kelsi-brown-corkran/
United States v. Munsingwear — U.S. Reports:https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep340/usrep340036/usrep340036.pdf
Mootness — Constitution Annotated:https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artIII-S2-C1-8-4/ALDE_00000725/

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