The Daily Brief — June 25, 2026
SCOTUS strikes down Hawaii gun law, backs Trump on asylum restriction and ending legal status for Haitians, Syrians
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SCOTUS on Immigration
In a 6–3 decision along party lines, the Supreme Court ruled today that migrants standing on the Mexican side of the US–Mexico border have not “arrived in the United States” and therefore are not entitled to apply for asylum.
The case, Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, turned on a single question: Does a migrant have to physically cross the border to trigger the right to apply for asylum, or does appearing at a port of entry and requesting admission count as “arriving”? The question arose as a result of a policy called “metering,” which sets a quota for the daily number of asylum seekers processed at US ports of entry. The policy was first used under President Obama in 2016, expanded by Trump in his first term, and rescinded by Biden in 2021.
The asylum seekers argued that Congress enacted the Refugee Act of 1980 to ensure US law complies with international obligations prohibiting countries from returning refugees to places where they face persecution. They contended that those protections extend to migrants who present themselves at US ports of entry seeking asylum. The challengers also argued that the Immigration and Nationality Act requires federal officials to inspect and process such migrants and that the government’s “metering” policy unlawfully blocked access to that process by forcing them to wait in Mexico.
Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito said the language in the Immigration and Nationality Act was unambiguous. “An alien standing in Mexico does not ‘arrive in the United States’ by attempting, and failing, to set foot in this country. An alien ‘arrives in the United States’ only when they cross the border.”
The Court rejected arguments that its interpretation conflicted with a treaty that bars countries from returning refugees to places where they face persecution. Alito wrote that the treaty’s protections apply only to refugees who are already “within the territory” of the US, and so refusing admission to migrants who aren’t yet on US soil doesn’t pose a problem.
In dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, accused the majority of focusing too much on the word “in” and ignoring that Congress created a mandatory inspection and asylum process for migrants who present themselves at ports of entry, which the metering policy doesn’t follow. The dissenters warned that the ruling allows immigration officials to block asylum seekers even when ports have the capacity to process them.
Sotomayor said the decision “blesses the Executive Branch’s decision to slam the door shut on all who are fleeing persecution.”
Haitians’, Syrians’ Legal Right to Stay at Risk
The Supreme Court let the Trump administration end deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians and Syrians who have been living legally in the US. The protections come from Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a program Congress created in 1990 for migrants from countries hit by war or disaster. Roughly 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians hold the status.
The decision was 6–3 and resolved two combined cases: Trump v. Miot for Haitians and Mullin v. Doe for Syrians.
Last year, the Trump administration sought to end both designations, arguing conditions had improved in both countries and TPS was no longer necessary. In the lower courts, the immigrants had argued that even if the courts cannot second-guess the government’s decision to end their status, they can still review whether the secretary followed the steps the law requires first — and that Kristi Noem, then the secretary of homeland security, skipped one. The government countered that the law doesn’t allow judges to make determinations about things like TPS status.
The Supreme Court agreed with the federal government. Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito said the TPS law forbids courts to review claims about it. The ban on judicial review “is clear, and its plain meaning is very broad,” he wrote.
The Court also rejected, for now, a separate claim that ending Haiti’s TPS status was driven by race, pointing to President Trump’s past comments about Haitians. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump falsely claimed that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, ate their neighbors’ pets. Trump also said Haitians “probably have AIDS,” and that Haiti is “sh*t hole” country that is “filthy, dirty, disgusting.” Alito wrote that none of the cited statements was “overtly racial” and that all “could rest on race-neutral justifications.”
Justice Elena Kagan dissented, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson. She argued the TPS law still allows courts to review where the appropriate procedures were followed.
The Court’s decision lets the terminations take effect while the lawsuits continue. Affected migrants will likely lose work authorization and face removal to countries the State Department still rates “do not travel.”
Hawaii Gun Law Ruling
In a 6–3 ruling, the Supreme Court struck down a Hawaii law that made it illegal for holders of concealed-carry firearm permits to take their guns onto private property open to the public unless the property owner expressly gave permission. It applied to locations such as restaurants, stores, shopping centers, and banks.
The law, passed in 2023, treated violations as a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison. Three residents of Hawaii with concealed-carry permits sued the state, arguing that the law violated their Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion in the case, Wolford v. Lopez. He argued that Hawaii’s law violated the Second Amendment because it left people with concealed carry permits almost nowhere to exercise their constitutionally protected right to carry guns for self defense. While Hawaii argued that the law respected the rights of property owners to decide whether to allow guns on their property, Alito wrote that the state nonetheless “may not adopt property-law rules that violate constitutional rights.””
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, dissented. She argued that the case was really about property rights, not gun rights, and that private property owners are entitled to require their permission before someone brings a gun onto their property.
In a separate dissent, Justice Elena Kagan argued that Hawaii’s law was consistent with laws from the colonial and founding eras that prohibited bringing guns onto private property without the owner’s consent.
The ruling does not prevent owners of private property from forbidding firearms if they inform the public of the prohibition, which is different from requiring the express permission of private property owners, as Hawaii’s law did. It also does not affect firearms restrictions on public property such as parks and beaches or in sensitive locations including government buildings and schools.
Prairieland Defendants Get 450 Years
Eight people were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 30 to 100 years for their roles in a shooting that wounded a police officer outside an ICE immigration detention facility last year. Their combined sentences total 450 years.
The shooting took place outside the Prairieland Detention Center near Dallas, TX. Authorities said a group gathered outside the detention center on July 4, 2025, setting off fireworks and vandalizing property before the police officer responding to the scene was shot in the neck.
Prosecutors described the incident as an act of domestic terrorism and alleged the defendants were linked to the far-left movement known as antifa, short for antifascists. Defense attorneys denied those allegations. The defendants said they went to the facility to express support for immigrants detained inside.
Benjamin Song, a Marine reservist convicted of attempting to murder a law enforcement officer after opening fire during the demonstration, received the maximum sentence of 100 years. The seven others were sentenced to terms ranging from 30 to 70 years.
Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada received a 30-year sentence after being convicted of concealing documents. His attorney argued that he was not present at the detention center during the shooting and played no role in planning the attack. According to the defense, he merely moved a box — from his residence to a location in Denton, Texas — containing personal belongings, including artwork, poetry, journals, and zines, after the shooting and did not possess any illegal materials.
Several defendants had previously pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists rather than go to trial.
Newsbreak
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Venezuela Earthquakes
At least 188 people were killed after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela’s northern coast yesterday. Over 1,500 others were injured, and rescuers continued searching for people believed to be trapped beneath collapsed buildings and rubble.
The main earthquake, measuring magnitude 7.5, was preceded by a magnitude 7.2 foreshock, a smaller earthquake that occurs before a larger seismic event. The Venezuelan government has declared a state of emergency and deployed emergency personnel nationwide.
Several countries, including the United States, have pledged support for rescue and relief efforts.
Camp Mystic Bankruptcy
Camp Mystic, the all-girls Christian summer camp in Texas where 28 people were killed in flooding last year, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
In a filing submitted yesterday in Houston, the camp listed total debt between $10 million and $50 million and assets between $1 million and $10 million. The filing comes as the camp faces multiple lawsuits from victims’ families alleging that camp officials failed to adequately protect campers from the flooding. Chapter 11 allows organizations facing financial problems to reorganize and repay their debts while continuing operations.
Twenty-five campers, two counselors, and one of the camp’s co-owners were killed when floodwaters overwhelmed cabins on July 4, 2025, sweeping some people away and trapping others.
The Eastland family, which owns the camp, had planned to reopen this summer for the camp’s 100th anniversary but abandoned those plans in April after objections from victims’ families and lawmakers.
House Speaker to Push for SAVE America Act
Speaker Mike Johnson said he plans to push for the passage of the SAVE America Act through a third budget reconciliation bill.
Yesterday, President Trump canceled a planned signing ceremony for a bipartisan housing affordability bill, saying he would not sign the measure until the Senate passed the SAVE Act. The reconciliation process allows legislation to pass with a simple majority rather than the 60 votes normally needed to overcome a filibuster. Whether the SAVE Act would qualify for the reconciliation process remains unclear. Senate rules generally limit reconciliation bills to provisions that primarily affect federal spending, revenues, or the debt limit.
The SAVE America Act, would require Americans to show proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and a photo ID to cast a ballot.