The Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with the Trump administration in a procedural fight over speech restrictions on immigration judges, holding that the judges must pursue their free-speech complaint through the Merit Systems Protection Board rather than in federal court.
The ruling reversed a decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that had allowed the case to proceed. The justices did not reach the merits of the First Amendment claim but ruled on jurisdictional grounds, saying the federal employee complaint system was the proper channel.
Immigration judges are federal employees, unlike Article III judges. A policy restricting their public speeches started in 2019 during Trump’s first term and remained in effect under the Biden administration. The judges filed suit in 2020, arguing the policy violated the First Amendment.
Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, wrote a concurring opinion that criticized the 4th Circuit for what they described as responding to “political controversies of the day” rather than applying settled law.
The National Association of Immigration Judges said in a statement that the judges were disappointed but that the case is “far from over.”
“Justice cannot endure when judges are intimidated into silence, nor can a nation remain free when the rule of law is subordinate to the whims of political ambition,” the union said.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche applauded the decision in a social-media post, writing that it “sends a clear message: lower courts must accept that the law is the law, no matter the ‘political controversies of the day.’”
Tuesday’s decision comes as the Supreme Court separately weighs a lawsuit over Trump’s power to fire the heads of independent agencies, a case whose outcome could also affect the Merit Systems Protection Board’s members. The Supreme Court had temporarily sided with the immigration judges on an emergency basis in December 2025.
The dispute raises broader questions about whether the federal employee complaint system still functions as intended after Trump fired senior MSPB officials earlier in his term.