U.S. Supreme Court sides with immigration judges in speech case for now, rebuffing Trump administration

The Supreme Court Building is seen in Washington on March 28, 2017. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court sided with immigration judges on Friday, rebuffing the Trump administration for now in a case with possible implications for federal workers as the justices weigh expanding presidential firing power.

The decision is a technical step in a long-running case, but it touches on the effects of a series of high-profile firings under U.S. President Donald Trump. The justices let stand a ruling that raised questions about the Trump administration’s handling of the federal workforce, though they also signaled that lower courts should move cautiously.

Immigration judges are federal employees, and the question at the centre of the appeal is about whether they can sue to challenge a policy restricting their public speeches or if they are required to use a separate complaint system for the federal workforce.

Trump’s Republican administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene after an appeals court found that Trump’s firings of top complaint system officials had raised questions about whether it’s still working as intended.

The U.S. Justice Department said the firings are within the president’s power and the lower court had no grounds to raise questions. The solicitor general asked the Supreme Court to quickly freeze the ruling as he pushes to have the immigration judges’ case removed from federal court.

The justices declined, though they also said the Trump administration could return if the lower courts moved too fast. There were no noted dissents. The court has allowed most of Trump’s firings for now and is weighing whether to formally expand his legal power to fire independent agency officials by overturning job protections enshrined in a 90-year-old decision.

A union formerly representing immigration judges, who work for the U.S. Justice Department, first sued in 2020 to challenge a policy restricting what the judges can speak about in public. They say the case is a free-speech issue that belongs in federal court.

Ramya Krishnan, an attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute who argued the case on the union’s behalf, applauded the high court’s Friday decision. “The restrictions on immigration judges’ free speech rights are unconstitutional, and it’s intolerable that this prior restraint is still in place,” Krishnan said.

In recent months, the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration has included firing dozens of immigration judges who are seen by his allies as too lenient.

The White House did not immediately respond to an email message seeking comment Friday.

While the order is not a final decision, the case could eventually have implications for other federal workers who want to challenge firings in court rather than the employee complaint system now largely overseen by Trump appointees.

The decision comes after a series of wins for the Justice Department on the high court’s emergency docket. The court has sided with the Trump administration about two dozen times on issues ranging from immigration to federal funding.

Lindsay Whitehurst, The Associated Press