Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Judicial Review in Asylum Case

Kevin R. Johnson

02 Dec 2025 — 1 min read

Yesterday, in Urias-Orellana v. Bondi, the Supreme Court considered the courts' role in asylum cases as it weighs whether a federal court of appeals must defer to the Board of Immigration Appeals’ judgment on an asylum seeker’s claims of persecution.

Here is the transcript to the arguments. The Justices (see here, subscription required and here) seemed skeptical of judicial review "second guessing" the agency's conclusion about persecution.

Update (Dec. 2, 8:15 a.m. PST): According to Kelsey Dallas on SCOTUSBlog, "By the end of Monday’s arguments, it appeared likely that a majority of justices will side with the government and hold that federal courts of appeals should undertake a deferential review of the BIA’s persecution determinations for asylum seekers."

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