The Immigration Record of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden’s Supreme Court Nominee

Amy Howe in SCOTUSBlog summarizes the news about President Joe Biden’s nomination yesterday of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to be a Supreme Court justice. Judge Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve on the court.  If confirmed, the 51-year-old Jackson would  succeed Justice Stephen Breyer.  According to Howe, “the ideological balance on the conservative-dominated court is unlikely to change. But Jackson’s confirmation would ensure that Breyer’s seat remains occupied by a justice nominated by a Democratic president for the foreseeable future, and she would also make history in another way, as the first federal public defender to serve on the court.”

We previously posted about the National Immigration Law Center report that looks at Judge Jackson’s immigration record.  The Executive Summary of the report states that 

“Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson (U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit) has the most developed [of the three leading candidates] record on immigration-related matters, and her record is mixed.

• Notably, whether ruling for or against immigrants, Judge Jackson has consistently acknowledged the humanity of immigrants by declining to refer to them as “aliens” or “illegals;”
• In a close call, Judge Jackson asserted the power of the federal court to check the Trump administration’s abuse of executive authority in expanding expedited removals; and
• After the Trump administration changed documents so that they incorrectly stated asylum law, Judge Jackson held the Trump administration accountable by requiring it to provide relief for those harmed by the administration misstating the law.
• However, Judge Jackson rejected a challenge to two Trump-era immigration programs that improperly prevented asylum seekers from consulting with a lawyer;
• Judge Jackson denied a challenge to Trump’s border wall, holding that the challenged statutes were exempt from judicial review. 

On the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Judge Jackson was bound by circuit and Supreme Court precedent. As a Justice, she would be setting precedent. If she is the nominee, a deeper inquiry into her record on immigration related issues will be required.” (bold added).

American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) President Allen Orr welcomed the nomination of Judge Jackson to the Supreme Court with the following statement:

“I am inspired and encouraged by President Biden keeping this promise and making history by nominating Judge Brown Jackson to take up the mantle of Justice Stephen Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Brown Jackson is the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court, and one of very few nominees with any experience as a public defender. She is an individual who has not only developed a legal knowledge of immense depth and breadth, but someone who embodies the strength that comes through diversity and inclusion, something needed on the immigration judges’ bench as well. Her decision on the efforts of the Trump administration to expand ICE’s authority to fast-track deportations showed both empathy for real-life consequences and legal expertise. We all know the Supreme Court of the United States has a monumental responsibility and the decisions of the Court impact all of us, immigrant, non-immigrant, and citizen alike. I welcome this nomination and look forward to congratulating a new Supreme Court Justice Brown Jackson when the confirmation process ends.”

KJ