With the announcement of three decisions on Monday, the justices still have four more cases left to release before they leave for their summer recess, involving important issues such as the “major questions” doctrine and whether the Biden administration must continue to enforce the “remain in Mexico” program.
The justices are scheduled to release opinions again on Wednesday, June 29; the court has not indicated whether it will release all of the remaining opinions that day. Here are brief summaries of the four cases that have not yet been decided, but could be as soon as Wednesday:
- West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (argued Feb. 28): A challenge to the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases. One question before the court is whether the Republican-led states and the coal companies have a legal right to bring the case to the Supreme Court at all when the lower court’s decision is on hold until the Biden EPA issues a new rule. If they do have that right, a second question before the justices is whether the lower court’s decision violates the “major questions” doctrine — the idea that if Congress wants to give an administrative agency the power to make “decisions of vast economic and political significance,” it must say so clearly.
- Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety (argued Mar. 29): Whether Congress has the power to authorize suits against states, without their consent, under its constitutional war powers.
- Biden v. Texas (argued April 26): Whether the Department of Homeland Security must continue to enforce the Migrant Protection Protocols, a policy begun by President Donald Trump that requires asylum seekers at the southern border to stay in Mexico while awaiting a hearing in U.S. immigration court.
- Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta (argued April 27): Whether a state has authority to prosecute defendants who are not Native Americans, but who commit crimes against Native Americans on land that Congress historically reserved for Native people.