Current:Home > ContactThe Supreme Court rules against California woman whose husband was denied entry to US -ChatGPT
The Supreme Court rules against California woman whose husband was denied entry to US
View
Date:2025-04-24 19:43:34
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday ruled against a California woman who said her rights were violated after federal officials refused to allow her husband into the country, in part, because of the way his tattoos were interpreted.
The 6-3 decision along ideological lines found that citizens don’t necessarily have the right to participate in federal government decisions about whether immigrant spouse s can legally live in the U.S.
“While Congress has made it easier for spouses to immigrate, it has never made spousal immigration a matter of right,” said Justice Amy Coney Barrett, reading from the bench the majority opinion joined by her fellow conservatives.
While a citizen “certainly has a fundamental right to marriage” Barrett said, “it is a fallacy to leap from that premise to the conclusion that United States citizens have a fundamental right that can limit how Congress exercises the nation’s sovereign power to admit or exclude foreigners.”
In a dissent joined by her liberal colleagues, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said that denying citizens the right to seek specific reasons about why their spouses are denied entry, “gravely undervalues the right to marriage in the immigration context.”
The majority ruled against Los Angeles civil rights attorney Sandra Muñoz, who was last able to live with her Salvadoran husband nearly 10 years ago.
The couple started the process of getting an immigrant visa after they married in 2010. Luis Asencio-Cordero, who had been living in the U.S. without legal status, had to travel to the consulate in San Salvador to complete the process.
But once there, the consular officer denied his application and cited a law denying entry to people who could participate in unlawful activity.
The State Department would not give a more specific reason, but after filing a lawsuit they learned the refusal was based, in part, on a consular officer’s determination that his tattoos likely meant he was associated with the gang MS-13.
Asencio-Cordero has denied any association with any gang and has no criminal history. The tattoos, including Our Lady of Guadalupe, theatrical masks and a profile of psychologist Sigmund Freud, instead expressed his intellectual interests and Catholic faith, his lawyers said in court papers.
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Muñoz and ordered the State Department to share the reason and reconsider the visa application.
That ruling was tossed out by the Supreme Court after the State Department appealed.
___
The Associated Press writer Fatima Hussein contributed to this report.
veryGood! (828)
Related
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- 2023 was a year of big anniversaries
- We're Staging a Meet-Cute Between You and These 15 Secrets About The Holiday
- Florida State's lawsuit seeking ACC exit all about the fear of being left behind
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- Police suspect carbon monoxide killed couple and their son in western Michigan
- Ariana Grande Gives a Cute Nod to Boyfriend Ethan Slater With Her Holiday Decorations
- Florida State sues the ACC: `This is all about having the option' to leave
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- Is pot legal now? Why marijuana is both legal and illegal in US, despite Biden pardons.
Ranking
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- Travis Barker and Ex Shanna Moakler Honor Beautiful Daughter Alabama Barker in 18th Birthday Tributes
- Charlie Sheen assaulted in Malibu home by woman with a weapon, deputies say
- Judges to decide if 300 possible victims of trafficking from India should remain grounded in France
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Beyoncé shocks fans at 'Renaissance' event in Brazil: 'I came because I love you so much'
- Fact-checking 'The Iron Claw': What's real (and what's not) in Zac Efron's wrestling movie
- How Mexican nuns saved a butcher's business and a Christmas tradition
Recommendation
McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
Czech Republic holds a national day of mourning for the victims of its worst mass killing
Bowl game schedule today: Everything to know about the seven college bowl games on Dec. 23
In which we toot the horn of TubaChristmas, celebrating its 50th brassy birthday
Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
CBS News poll: What are Americans' hopes and resolutions for 2024?
A next big ballot fight over abortion could come to Arizona
Don't mope, have hope: Global stories from 2023 that inspire optimism and delight