In a surprising move, liberal Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan sided with the Trump administration in a case involving deportation. The case centered on four Mexican nationals—Fabian Lagunas Espinoza, Maria Angelica Flores Ulloa, and their two sons—who had been seeking to delay their deportation orders. The family argued that returning to Mexico would expose them to violent threats from the Los Rojos drug cartel, which had previously ordered them to leave their home in Guerrero, Mexico, or face death.
Despite providing detailed testimony and evidence of the violence they had experienced, the family’s appeal was denied. The immigration judge’s decision was upheld by the Board of Immigration Appeals in November 2023, and again confirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in February 2025. Despite these setbacks, the family still faced deportation, with an order to report to immigration authorities on April 17, 2025.
Justice Kagan had the option to delay the deportation by either acting on her own or referring the matter to the full Supreme Court. She chose to deny the appeal, offering no further explanation for her decision. Legal experts, including Fox News contributor Kerri Urbahn, speculated that the judge overseeing the case, Chief Judge James Boasberg, might have felt embarrassed by the Supreme Court’s intervention in a case that had previously been under his jurisdiction.
The case highlights ongoing legal battles over deportation and immigration enforcement, particularly those involving individuals claiming to face imminent danger in their home countries.