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SCOTUS: Green Card Holders Can Be Stripped of Legal Status If They Have Pending Criminal Charges

Not surprisingly, it was a 6-3 decision by the Supreme Court, with the usual suspects dissenting. In a decision authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, SCOTUS held that immigration officials do not need to present "clear and convincing evidence" that a lawful permanent resident committed a crime before treating the applicant for admission. The decision makes it much easier for the government to block or deport green card holders at the border if they have a reasonable suspicion that the green card holder committed a serious crime while abroad. 

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According to Newsweek, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote a "scathing" dissent:

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Tuesday that the federal government can strip returning green card holders of their standard legal status if they travel abroad while facing pending, unproven criminal allegations.

The decision drew a scathing dissent from liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who accused the conservative majority of bypassing explicit limits set by Congress and handing the executive branch a dangerous "blank check" to upend the lives of millions of permanent residents.

The ruling in Blanche v. Lau marks a sweeping victory for the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, which had actively urged the high court to take an expansive view of executive power. Green card holders are now forced to prove they are legally entitled to remain in the U.S., rather than requiring the government to prove they should be removed.

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The decision simply lowers the bar from "clear and convincing evidence" to reasonable suspicion. If you haven't committed a crime, there's no problem.

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