Supreme Court Narrows Window for Illegal Migrants to Appeal Deportation

The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a decision that narrows the window for illegal migrants to appeal a deportation order in federal appeals courts.

In a 5-4 decision, the high court said a required 30-day deadline for challenging deportation orders begins when the Department of Homeland Security issues a final administrative review and not when Board of Immigration Appeals proceedings conclude.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit had ruled that the petition for review filed by Pierre Riley, a Jamaica citizen, came too late because it was not filed 30 days after an immigration officer issued a final removal order in his case. Riley's request for withholding of removal was not resolved for more than a year after that.

The Supreme Court vacated the 4th Circuit's decision.

Judge Samuel Alito delivered the opinion, which was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Chief Justice John Roberts.

Alito wrote that the law sets a 30-day window for an illegal immigrant to appeal a "final order of removal."

The justice said Supreme Court precedent makes clear it must be the initial deportation decision by the immigration courts, not the extended discussions that sometimes follow over to which country someone can actually be sent.

"An order denying relief under the [Convention Against Torture] is not a final order of removal and does not affect the validity of a previously issued order of removal or render that order non-final. That teaching dooms Riley's argument here," Alito wrote.

Riley claimed he faced torture in Jamaica.

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