Border officers can suspend a foreign national’s status as a permanent lawful U.S. resident, pending resolution of a criminal charge, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
In a 6-3 decision in the case of Blanche v. Lau, the Supreme Court sided with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, reversing and remanding a Second Circuit appeals court ruling in favor of Muk Choi Lau, a Chinese national seeking to remain in the U.S. after pleading guilty to a felony.
Lau became a lawful permanent U.S. resident in 2007. But, after he was charged with third-degree trademark counterfeiting in New Jersey in 2012, he left the country.
A lawful permanent resident who arrives in the U.S. after a temporary absence can usually reenter the U.S. at will because he has previously been deemed admitted – unless he has committed serious crimes involving “moral turpitude.”
In Lau’s case, when he tried to reenter the U.S., a border officer noticed on a FBI database that Lau had been indicted for a felony. As a result, the border officer granted Lau temporary admittance (“parole”) – not admittance as a lawful permanent resident – pending the outcome of his criminal trial.
Ultimately, Lau pleaded guilty to counterfeiting, prompting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to secure a removal order for his deportation. Lau lost an appeal to the Board of Immigration, then sued. The Second Circuit ruled in his favor on the grounds that the border officer did not have “clear and convincing” evidence Lau had committed a serious crime.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court disagreed:
“Held: The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) does not require a border officer to have clear and convincing evidence that a lawful permanent resident has committed a crime involving moral turpitude before deeming the resident an applicant for admission.”
Read Full Article: https://newsbusters.org/blogs/cnsnews/craig-bannister/2026/06/23/border-officers-can-suspend-criminal-illegals-permanent
