Noem v. Al Otro Lado

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Supreme Court of the United States
Noem v. Al Otro Lado
Docket number: 25-5
Term: 2025
Court: United States Supreme Court
Important dates
Argument: March 24, 2026
Court membership
Chief Justice John Roberts • Clarence Thomas • Samuel Alito • Sonia Sotomayor • Elena Kagan • Neil Gorsuch • Brett Kavanaugh • Amy Coney Barrett • Ketanji Brown Jackson

Noem v. Al Otro Lado is a case scheduled for argument before the Supreme Court of the United States on March 24, 2026, during the court's October 2025-2026 term.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • The issue: The case concerns the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq. Click here to learn more about the case's background.
  • The questions presented: "The Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq. , provides that an alien who ‘arrives in the United States’ may apply for asylum and must be inspected by an immigration officer. 8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(1)(A), 1225(a)(1) and (3). The question presented is whether an alien who is stopped on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border ‘arrives in the United States’ within the meaning of those provisions."[1]
  • The outcome: The appeal is pending adjudication before the U.S. Supreme Court.


    • The case came on a writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. To review the lower court's opinion, click here.

    Background

    Case summary

    The following are the parties to this case:[2]

    • Petitioner: Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, et al.
      • Legal counsel: D. John Sauer
    • Respondent: Al Otro Lado, a California Corporation
      • Legal counsel: Kelsi Brown Corkran

    The following summary of the case was published by Oyez, a free law project from Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, Justia, and the Chicago-Kent College of Law:[3]

    “

    Beginning in 2016, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) implemented a ‘metering’ policy at ports of entry along the United States-Mexico border to manage asserted capacity constraints. CBP officers stationed at the physical boundary line turned away asylum seekers lacking valid travel documents, preventing them from stepping onto U.S. soil to undergo mandatory inspection and processing. These officials instructed migrants to return to Mexico and wait for future processing opportunities, often without providing specific appointment times, forcing numerous asylum seekers to endure prolonged delays in Mexican border towns where they faced significant safety risks.

    While these asylum seekers waited, the federal government promulgated the ‘Asylum Transit Rule’ in 2019, which generally rendered noncitizens ineligible for asylum if they traveled through a third country without first seeking protection there. This regulatory change prejudiced individuals previously turned away under the metering policy because, had CBP processed them upon their initial arrival, the Transit Rule would not have applied to their claims. Al Otro Lado, a legal aid organization, joined thirteen individual asylum seekers to file a class-action lawsuit challenging the metering policy and seeking to prevent the government from applying the Transit Rule to those who attempted to enter before its enactment.

    The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California declared the metering policy unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act and permanently enjoined the government from applying the Asylum Transit Rule to class members . The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s conclusion that the policy unlawfully withheld mandatory agency action, but narrowed the injunction to prevent the district court from forcing the government to unilaterally reopen past asylum denials.[4]

    		”

    To learn more about this case, see the following:

    Timeline

    The following timeline details key events in this case:

    • March 24, 2026: The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument.
    • November 17, 2025: The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.
    • July 1, 2025: Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
    • October 23, 2024: The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part the decision of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.

    Questions presented

    The petitioner presented the following questions to the court:[1]

    Questions presented:
    “ The Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq. , provides that an alien who ‘arrives in the United States’ may apply for asylum and must be inspected by an immigration officer. 8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(1)(A), 1225(a)(1) and (3). The question presented is whether an alien who is stopped on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border ‘arrives in the United States’ within the meaning of those provisions.[4] ”

    Oral argument

    Audio

    Audio of the case will be posted here when it is made available.

    Transcript

    A transcript of the case will be posted here when it is made available.

    Outcome

    The case is pending adjudication before the U.S. Supreme Court.

    October term 2025-2026

    See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2025-2026

    The Supreme Court began hearing cases for the term on October 6, 2025. The court's yearly term begins on the first Monday in October and lasts until the first Monday in October the following year. The court generally releases the majority of its decisions by mid-June.[5]


    See also

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Supreme Court of the United States, "25-5 NOEM V. AL OTRO LADO QP", November 17, 2025
    2. ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "No. 25-5," accessed February 10, 2026
    3. ↑ Oyez, "Noem v. Al Otro Lado," accessed February 10, 2026
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    5. ↑ SupremeCourt.gov, "The Supreme Court at Work: The Term and Caseload," accessed January 24, 2022
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