Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is shown in this booking photo
The U.S. Supreme Court gave a rare victory today to President Joe Biden in its 5-4 ruling that will allow him to reverse one of the Trump Administration’s most xenophobic policies on the Southern border.
The Court found that the Biden administration “had the authority to reverse a Trump-era initiative that requires asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while their cases are reviewed in U.S. courts,” the Washington Post reported. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts “said federal immigration law gives the executive discretion: He may return asylum seekers to Mexico but is not required to do so.”
The case wasn’t just a big victory for Biden: It was also a stinging rebuke to two of the most activist Trump-enabling attorneys general in the nation: Ken Paxton of Texas and Eric Schmitt of Missouri. The same pair had led the key failed “Big Lie” lawsuits after the 2020 election.
The case has been a major MAGA talking point for both men. Paxton and Schmitt have bellowed press releases claiming victory as lower federal courts ruled in their favor on the “Remain in Mexico” program.
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Last August, Schmitt’s office trumpeted, “Attorney General Schmitt Scores Massive Win in “Remain in Mexico Lawsuit.”
“In April, along with my colleague from Texas, I filed suit to halt (Biden’s suspension of the Trump policy). Today, in a huge win for the Missouri Attorney General’s Office and in a big step towards securing the border, a federal court issued a nationwide permanent injunction. Today’s massive win was crucial – re-implementing the Migrant Protection Protocols will help secure the border and fight the scourge of human trafficking.”
In December, Paxton was equally effusive about another lower-court decision in their favor. “Paxton Declares Victory on Reinstatement of ‘Remain in Mexico’ program,” read the press-release headline.
“The restoration of the ‘Remain in Mexico’ program is a huge win for Texas! This is one of the many lawsuits I have filed against the Biden Administration,” Attorney General Ken Paxton said. “I will continue to fight to restore safety and order along our southern border, making sure that this essential program is implemented in full compliance with the court’s order.”
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After the two made their ultimately unsuccessful oral arguments before the justices April 26, Schmitt – who is running the U.S. Senate in Missouri – went full MAGA on Fox News. He claimed that the “Remain in Mexico” program hurt drug-cartel profits.
“Having Mexico be the waiting room is… very important not just for the people that actually are not being sent into the interior of the United States never to be seen again, which is what Joe Biden wants," Schmitt said. "But also, I think it sends a very strong signal to Central and South America and to the cartels that there's not a financial incentive for you to just get them across."
But that rhetoric was a thing of the past today as Schmitt and Paxton suffered the ignominious fate of losing a major case before what many consider the most-politicized right-wing Supreme Court in U.S. history. Paxton whined in a press released that the matter was “wrongly decided” by the justices.
“Today’s decision makes the border crisis worse,” Paxton said. “But it’s not the end. I’ll keep pressing forward and focus on securing the border and keeping our communities safe in the dozen other immigration suits I’m litigating in court.”
Schmitt’s prolific Twitter account ignored the defeat entirely while celebrating another key SCOTUS decision – its landmark decision curbing the EPA’s ability to fight climate change.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote the decision, joined by Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, and the court’s three liberals, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
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