All justices besides Samuel Alito concurred in the opinion that Texas and Louisiana lack standing to challenge the new rules, which the Department of Homeland Security promulgated in 2021.

Texas and Louisiana argued that federal law requires law enforcement to arrest certain noncitizens upon their release from prison or entry of a final order of removal, but the new DHS rule only prioritizes the arrest and removal of noncitizens who are suspected terrorists or dangerous criminals who unlawfully entered the country recently. The states claimed that these rules harmed them by imposing extra costs by requiring them to continue to incarcerate or supply social services—such as health care and education—to noncitizens.

While the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas last year found that the states would incur additional costs, the Supreme Court ruled that any alleged injury must also be “legally and judicially cognizable” to meet standing requirements, and this harm does not.

[Alito was none too happy about it, but Clarence Thomas concurred in a separate opinion written by Neil Gorsuch. Back to the drawing board — and back to the electoral process, which is the only real solution for the Biden border crisis. — Ed]