Intervention Before US Supreme Court on the Rights of Asylum Seekers

25/02/26

The Global Strategic Litigation Council (“the Council") has filed a legal intervention (amicus curiae) before the US Supreme Court in Noem v Al Otro Lado. The case centres on the US federal government’s former ‘turnback’ policy, which blocked people from seeking asylum at ports of entry along the southern US border. The policy was struck down by the Ninth Circuit as unlawful and subsequently rescinded; however, the US Supreme Court has since granted the Trump administration’s request for a review of the Ninth Circuit ruling.

The Council's brief highlights the United States’ obligations under the principle of non-refoulement, which forbids sending anyone back to a country where their life or freedom would be threatened. The brief argues that non-refoulement applies at the border and prohibits any border practice that compels asylum seekers to remain in or return to territories where their life or freedom would be threatened.

The brief was signed by 140 leading academics, experts and NGOs from across the world. The US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on 24 March 2026.