Supreme Court to begin new term: Trump administration immigration cases, emergency appeals, more on docket

What This is

• The Supreme Court’s new term begins with a high-profile fight over whether Boulder, Colorado can sue Exxon Mobil and Suncor for local costs tied to climate change, or whether federal law blocks those state-law claims.
• Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from the Boulder climate case after complaints about his oil and gas investments, leaving eight justices and raising the possibility of a 4–4 tie.
• The Court will hear a major gun-rights case asking whether the Second Amendment protects AR-15-style semiautomatic rifles, putting state and local bans at risk.
• The Court agreed to hear a challenge to a Trump administration policy that allows many undocumented immigrants to be held without bond hearings while deportation cases move forward, after conflicting lower-court rulings.
• In a separate immigration fight, the Court temporarily allowed the administration to resume deporting some migrants to third countries while the justices consider the policy this term.
• The Court is set to hear a religious-liberty challenge by Catholic parishes to Colorado’s rule that preschools receiving state funds cannot exclude children based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
• The Trump administration is leaning heavily on the Court’s emergency “shadow docket” to seek quick, often temporary orders in disputes including deportations, voter checks, and transgender-related policies.

Why This Matters

• These cases could shift how much power states have versus the federal government on issues like climate policy and immigration enforcement.
• Rulings on AR-15-style rifles could set a national rule on whether communities can restrict certain weapons.
• Immigration decisions will shape how long the government can hold or rapidly remove people while courts review their claims.
• Repeated emergency orders can change policy quickly while giving the public fewer explanations than normal Supreme Court cases.