The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear the Trump administration’s appeal defending President Donald J. Trump’s ban on asylum claims at the southern border, one of the central pieces of the president’s immigration agenda.

The court granted the government’s petition in Mullin v. Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, No. 26-239, limiting its review to the first two questions the administration presented, according to the court’s docket. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is the lead petitioner. The policy remains in effect while the litigation continues, NBC News reported, and a ruling is expected before the end of June.

The ban stems from a proclamation the president issued on Jan. 20, 2025, his first day back in office, which declared an “invasion” at the southern border. Under one of its provisions, anyone who crosses the border without the required paperwork can be removed immediately without the ability to claim asylum.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the justices that the president has broad authority to bar entry to the United States under federal immigration law and the powers delegated to him in the Constitution. The policy “rests on a commonsense understanding of the President’s inherent and delegated powers to exclude aliens,” Mr. Sauer wrote. He pointed to a provision of immigration law that allows the president to restrict the entry of anyone whose entry he finds would be “detrimental to the interests of the United States.”

The administration asked the high court to step in after U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington ruled against the policy in July 2025 and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld that ruling in April.

The asylum dispute is the third major case on the president’s immigration policies now before the court, NBC News reported. It follows a related ruling in June in favor of the president’s authority over the border.