Supreme Court Judge Elena Kagan on Wednesday denied an emergency appeal by four Mexican nationals facing deportation. The request asked the court to temporarily block deletion so that a formal petition could be filed for review.
Kagan refused the application without comment and did not introduce the matter to his court colleagues.
Petitioners, Fabian Lagunus Espinoza, Maria Angelica Flores Ulloa and their two sons, were ordered to report to immigration officers on April 17th. Their legal team claimed that if they returned to Mexico they would face cartel violence.
The family fled Mexico’s Guerrero in 2021 after being threatened by the Los Rojos Cartel, according to their court application. The petition said that cartel members requested that their families be left home within 24 hours or be killed.
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It also included details of past violence against extended families, including assaults and threats after refusing to cooperate with the cartel.
The family illegally entered the United States, sought asylum, and an immigration judge denied their claim.
San Diego, California – January 25th: A view of the US Mexican border wall on Imperial Beach on the San Diego side on Saturday, January 25th, 2025. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The ruling was upheld by the Immigration Appeals Committee in November 2023, and the Ninth Circuit confirmed the decision in February 2025.
The emergency appeal to Judge Kagan allegedly failed to consider the lower courts and immigration authorities’ claims of credible evidence and legitimate process.
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In the Supreme Court process, each justice processes emergency appeals from a particular circuit. As justice assigned to the 9th Circuit, Kagan had the power to act alone or introduce the case to the full court.
WASHINGTON, DC-March 17: The US Supreme Court is on display in Washington, DC on March 17, 2025. The Trump administration rebelled against a court order by a federal judge in a case related to the deportation of more than 200 alleged suspects allegedly accused by El Salvador under the Alien Enemy Act of 1789. (Get McNamee/Getty Images)
She rejected the application without further reference.
In the application, Leroy George Siddell, the petitioner’s lawyer, wrote:
WASHINGTON, DC-October 7: Assistant U.S. Supreme Court Judge Elena Kagan posing for an official portrait in the Eastern Conference Room of the Supreme Court building on October 7, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court began a new term after Ketanji Brown Jackson was officially added to the bench in September. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
There was no response to the application from the Department of Justice before Kagan issued her decision.
As of Thursday morning, petitioners had to report it to US immigration authorities. Their nature has not yet been determined.
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The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
