October Term 2019 · Docket 18-1432

Does a final order of removal include a denial of protection?

The dispute centers on whether federal courts can review denials of protection from removal.

Official caption
Nasrallah v. Barr
Latest argument session
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Argued
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Official Transcript

Verified source milestones

  1. — An official oral-argument transcript was verified.
  2. — An official oral-argument transcript was verified.

The arguments, in order

This case may have been argued more than once. Each entry below uses that session's official transcript. Later arguments do not erase earlier ones.

  1. Argument 1 ·

    What happened at the argument

    Mr. Guarnieri argued the term includes administrative decisions.

    Mr. Hughes argued the term excludes protection denials.

    Justice Alito questioned the statutory language meaning.

    Read the official transcript for this argument · Official argument details

    Sources used for this argument breakdown

A citizen's guide to the whole case

What this case is about

This case tests the scope of judicial review over immigration decisions.

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How the case got here

The Supreme Court heard oral argument in this case on March 2, 2020.

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What each side wants

the side that brought the case wants a court to review the denial of protection.

The government wants to block court review of that denial.

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What each side says

the side that brought the case argues the denial is not a final order of removal.

The government argues the denial is a final order of removal.

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What the justices asked

Justice Alito asked about the zipper clause language.

Justice Alito asked if the petition is for a final order.

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Why it matters

This defines the boundary of federal court power over immigration.

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What happens next

This article currently covers the argument record. Use the official docket link for later case activity.

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Official Court provenance

Official docket and case history · Official Supreme Court oral-argument detail page

Title and summary sources

Revision history

  1. Revision 1 · Official Transcript ·

    Correction: Rewritten to the concise citizen-facing editorial standard.

  2. Revision 2 · Official Transcript ·

    Correction: Migrated to the dated official Court activity contract without model use.

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