Supreme Court hands Biden split results on EPA, remain in Mexico policy

Supreme Court on Thursday handed President Biden split decisions on the EPA and the Trump-era remain in Mexico policy.

The Court ruled in favor of Biden's decision to eliminate the Trump-era remain in Mexico policy, but curbed the authority of the EPA

The court in the immigration policy decision overturned a lower court's decision that required the Biden administration to terminate the Trump-era policy.

Texas and Missouri both challenged the administration's decision to end the policy, arguing that choosing to not enforce it was a violation of federal immigration law.

A lower court agreed, ordering the executive to continue enforcing the policy. The administration asked the Supreme Court for expedited review of federal law to determine if the lower court’s decision is correct. The Court sided with Biden, paving the way for elimination of the remain in Mexico policy. 

The dispute at the center of this decision came as a result of the Biden administration's efforts to roll back Trump era policies, labeled the Migrant Protection Protocols. 

Under the MPP’s, non-citizens apprehended at the southern border were returned to Mexico during their immigration proceedings, as opposed to being released within the United States. 

In the EPA decision, the court ruled the EPA has much more limited authority than previously thought to restrict emissions from power plants. 

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion of the court, while Justice Elena Kagan wrote in dissent, joined by Justices Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. 

The lawsuit in this case was brought as a disagreement about the Clean Air Act, a law that tasks the EPA with protecting air quality by regulating pollution. 

The act has been used by both the Obama and Trump administrations as justification for the executive branch to set guidelines for power plant emissions.