Supreme Court to Consider Standard for Reviewing Asylum Denials

The US Supreme Court agreed to consider how much deference courts should give the federal government when reviewing decisions to deny a refugee asylum.

In an order on Monday, the court accepted an appeal from a Salvadoran family that was denied asylum after arguing they’d face persecution if deported to their home country.

Douglas Humberto Urias-Orellana claimed he and his family would be killed by a hitman if they returned to El Salvador, but the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed the appeal. It said Urias-Orellana hadn’t shown he would be unable to avoid future persecution by relocating within El Salvador.

The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed that decision, saying there was substantial evidence for the agency’s findings. Though the Trump administration argued the ruling was right, Solicitor General John Sauer urged the court to take the case.

He noted a circuit split over what standard of review should be applied to determinations of past or future persecution.

The case is Urias-Orellana v. Bondi, U.S., No. 24-777, cert. granted 6/30/25.