Supreme Court limits federal review of some deportations

WASHINGTON >> A sharply divided Supreme Court on Monday ruled that federal courts are powerless to review immigration officials’ decisions in some deportation cases, even when they have made what a dissenting justice called “egregious factual mistakes.” The court ruled 5-4 against Georgia resident Pankajkumar Patel, who checked a box indicating he was a U.S. citizen when renewing his Georgia driver’s license in 2008. An immigration judge concluded Patel intended to misrepresent his status for the purpose of getting his license, even though Georgia law entitled a noncitizen in Patel’s situation to a license to drive.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for five conservative justices that federal courts can’t review such decisions under immigration law. The U.S. attorney general can grant protection from deportation, but people must first be eligible and the result of the immigration judge’s decision was that Patel was ineligible.