Supreme Court Leaves Texas–Justice Dept. Deportation Deal in Place; Kagan Warns on Court's Standing

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to reinstate the authority of immigration judges to temporarily postpone deportation cases, leaving in place an agreement between Texas and the Justice Department under President Donald Trump. Immigrant advocates had asked the justices to bring back a Biden-era policy that gave immigration judges discretion over such cases. They accused Texas and the federal government of colluding in the deal. The ruling means judges cannot shelve cases under that earlier policy while the agreement stands.

Separately, Justice Elena Kagan gave a speech the previous week at Catholic University's law school in Washington, D.C., a couple of weeks before the midterm elections. She warned that the Supreme Court itself was undermining democratic governance and noted that the public had lost confidence in the court.

Left-leaning outlets covered two different subjects. The New York Times reports the immigration ruling, leading with the court allowing the Texas deal and giving prominent place to advocates who called it collusion and wanted the Biden-era discretion restored. Slate does not address that ruling. It runs an Amicus podcast conversation in which host Dahlia Lithwick and Balls and Strikes editor Madiba K. Dennie discuss Kagan's speech. They present it as an unusually blunt, deliberate statement from a justice who is normally careful, and they treat public distrust of the court as justified. Reuters, an alternative source, covers the same ruling as the Times but frames it as the court denying judges the power to shelve cases. It does not feature advocates in the excerpt provided. Right-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and alternative outlets had.