Justices limit federal court review of some deportations

By MARK SHERMAN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A sharply divided Supreme Court has ruled that federal courts are powerless to review immigration officials’ decisions in some deportation cases, even when they have made what a dissenting justice called “egregious factual mistakes.” The court has ruled against Georgia resident Pankajkumar Patel, who checked a box indicating he was a U.S. citizen when renewing his Georgia driver’s license. An immigration judge concluded Patel intended to misrepresent his status for the purpose of getting his license, even though Georgia law entitled a noncitizen in Patel’s situation to a license to drive. The judge ordered Patel and his wife deported. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for five conservative justices that federal courts can’t review such decisions under immigration law.