Congress passed the Refugee Act in 1980 because it did not want this country to repeat the mistakes of its past.
Sonia Sotomayor
The Public Record
Sonia Sotomayor is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, having been nominated by President Barack Obama in 2009. She is the first Hispanic and Latina member of the Court. Sotomayor previously served as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and as a district court judge for the Southern District of New York. Her judicial philosophy often emphasizes the importance of empathy and the impact of the law on the lives of individuals, particularly marginalized communities.
★ Featured Quote
July 3, 2026
The majority ignores that 'arrival' and 'arriving' in the immigration context have never focused on the precise location of a noncitizen’s feet.
— Sonia Sotomayor
In the end, to the Court, the facts do not matter, even though the consequences are serious.
Because of the Court’s decision today, West Virginia, and any other state actor, can deny B. P. J. and others like her these experiences simply because it thinks they have an inherent athletic advantage, even if the facts show that they do…
Because the Court today errs by reducing the burden, at least in the sports context, that the Constitution places on state actors when classifying based on sex, I respectfully dissent.
The ban is absolute, so B. P. J. cannot practice on girls’ teams, even if she would not take anyone’s spot in an eventual competition, even if everyone who tries out for the team makes it, and even if having the chance to participate could…
The majority’s opinion ends by reciting the many wonderful ways in which playing sports can be valuable to young people.
Today, this Court undoes centuries of political practice and concludes that all three branches of Government have been acting in open defiance of the Constitution all this time.
The one thing that does appear to be clear going forward is that chaos will follow.
Today, the Court discards that democratic regime in favor of one that distorts the structure of Government to fit the majority’s theory of unitary, total executive control.
The result is a President who emerges with far greater power than ever before. It is a power, however, that neither the People, nor Congress, nor the Constitution bestowed upon him.
More people will turn back and be subjected to violence because of something they cannot or should not have to change about themselves, such as their race, religion, nationality, or political opinion.
This Court has previously recognized that immigration statutes and procedures should not be construed to ‘create a perverse incentive to enter at an unlawful rather than a lawful location. Yet, the majority’s construction does exactly that.
More people will be forced to walk along the U. S.-Mexico border in dangerous conditions, trying to find a port that will inspect them.
The point, however, is not that illegal entry always produces a net windfall for asylum seekers; it is that Congress was unlikely to devise a system in which asylum is available to those who unlawfully set foot over the border, but not to…
Since 1917, Congress has required immigration officers to inspect noncitizens who arrive at ports of entry to determine whether they may enter the United States.
Down one lies an orderly election, held under a tried-and-tested congressional map that protects Black Alabamians’ right to vote.
Down the other lies a chaotic election, held under a never-before-used congressional map that intentionally discriminates against Black Alabamians.
It also corrodes the rule of law by rewarding Alabama’s gamesmanship and outright defiance of court orders.
The reason the district court found intentional discrimination even after affording such deference to the Alabama Legislature is simple: The record is crystal clear.
In addition to being wrong on the merits, the Court’s decision inflicts two grave harms on the public.





