{"id":2606938,"date":"2026-05-26T12:43:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T16:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-scores-scotus-win-in-battle-over-immigration-judges-work-related-speech\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T12:46:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T16:46:52","slug":"trump-scores-scotus-win-in-battle-over-immigration-judges-work-related-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-scores-scotus-win-in-battle-over-immigration-judges-work-related-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Scores SCOTUS Win In Case Involving Immigration Judges"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-scores-scotus-win-in-battle-over-immigration-judges-work-related-speech%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2606938&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the Trump administration in a case over a federal regulation governing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-biden-unveils-immigration-bill-leftwing-activists-call-for-end-to-filibuster-to-ram-it-through\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Biden Unveils Immigration Bill, Leftwing Activists Call For End To Filibuster To Ram It Through\">immigration judges<\/a>\u2019 \u201cwork-related speech.\u201d The policy required immigration judges to get supervisory approval before making public speeches tied to their official duties, aiming to ensure <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-coach-fired-for-removing-blm-poster-claims-1a-rights-violated\/\" title=\"Former Coach Fired for Removing BLM Poster Claims 1A Rights ...\">employee speech<\/a> doesn\u2019t appear to reflect the government\u2019s position.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit was brought by the National Association of Immigration Judges, arguing the rule infringed members\u2019 First and Fifth Amendment rights. The lower courts held that a 1978 law-the Civil Service Reform Act-channels most work-related grievances involving federal employees away from district courts and toward administrative review through the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Special Counsel.<\/p>\n<p>Although the Fourth circuit agreed the Civil Service Reform Act generally applied, it vacated the decision based on concerns about how the system was operating in practice, ordering further factfinding. The Supreme Court reversed that step, saying the Fourth Circuit relied on an issue the parties hadn\u2019t raised and thus violated the \u201cparty presentation\u201d principle.<\/p>\n<p>Justice Clarence Thomas concurred in the result but also wrote separately,joined by Justice Amy Coney Barrett,arguing the Fourth Circuit\u2019s approach was wrong on the merits as well-emphasizing that courts can\u2019t rewrite statutory schemes based on what they think Congress would have wanted.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States_(swag).jpg\">Pacamah\/Wikimedia Commons\/<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/26\/trump-scores-scotus-win-in-battle-over-immigration-judges-work-related-speech\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Trump Scores SCOTUS Win In Battle Over Immigration Judges\u2019 \u2018Work-Related Speech\u2019&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/26\/trump-scores-scotus-win-in-battle-over-immigration-judges-work-related-speech\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Trump Scores SCOTUS Win In Battle Over Immigration Judges\u2019 \u2018Work-Related Speech\u2019&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/26\/trump-scores-scotus-win-in-battle-over-immigration-judges-work-related-speech\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/26\/trump-scores-scotus-win-in-battle-over-immigration-judges-work-related-speech\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Trump Scores SCOTUS Win In Battle Over Immigration Judges\u2019 \u2018Work-Related Speech\u2019&#038;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/26\/trump-scores-scotus-win-in-battle-over-immigration-judges-work-related-speech\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously sided with the Trump administration on Monday in a dispute involving its policy regulating immigration judges\u2019 \u201cwork-related speech.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/orders\/courtorders\/052626zor_6j36.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">per curiam opinion<\/a>, the high court vacated and remanded a decision by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals that centered around the government\u2019s rules governing the executive\u2019s immigration courts. The specific policy in question \u2014 which was enacted in October 2021 under the Biden administration \u2014 required immigration judges \u201cto obtain supervisory approval for public speeches relating to their official duties\u201d and was designed \u201cto ensure that employee speech which may be seen as bearing the \u2018imprimatur\u2019 of the Office is consistent with its official positions,\u201d according to SCOTUS. <\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3619947726\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ) challenged the rule in federal court, arguing that it violated its members\u2019 First and Fifth Amendment rights. As noted by the Supreme Court, however, under the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA), Congress \u201cintended\u201d for federal employees to bring \u201cmost work-related grievances\u201d to the executive\u2019s Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and the Special Counsel \u2014 \u201cnot to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-announces-new-legal-team-for-impeachment-defense-after-previous-team-collapsed\/\" title=\"Trump Announces New Legal Team For Impeachment Defense After Previous Team Collapsed\">federal district court<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to SCOTUS, the district court overseeing the case dismissed the NAIJ\u2019s argument that its members\u2019 constitutional claims \u201cwere not the <em>kind<\/em> of work-related claims that Congress intended to steer out of district court.\u201d It held that it lacked jurisdiction over the matter, and that the CSRA \u201ccovered\u201d respondent\u2019s claims. <\/p>\n<p>While agreeing with the district court\u2019s conclusions that the NAIJ\u2019s claims were covered by the CSRA and that Congress precluded district courts from overseeing such matters, the 4th Circuit panel nevertheless vacated the lower court\u2019s ruling based on \u201cfactual circumstances\u201d that it said \u201ccalled into question\u201d whether the CSRA was \u201cfunctioning as Congress intended.\u201d The appellate court further remanded the case back to the district court \u201cfor factfinding into the current operation of the MSPB,\u201d as summarized by SCOTUS. <\/p>\n<p>In vacating and remanding that decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the 4th Circuit\u2019s actions were \u201cbased on an issue the parties had not raised\u201d throughout litigation. By all accounts, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-court-deals-major-blow-to-big-tech-and-sets-up-scotus-to-restore-free-speech\/\" title=\"... Deals Major Blow To Big Tech And Sets Up SCOTUS To Restore Free Speech\">high court reasoned<\/a>, the 4th Circuit\u2019s decision \u201cviolated the party presentation principle when it decided \u2018a case different from the one [respondent] advanced.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFederal courts are not \u2018roving commissions\u2019 \u2026 licensed to \u2018\u201dsally forth each day looking for wrongs to right.\u201d\u2018 \u2026 The Court of Appeals lost sight of those principles here,\u201d the justices ruled. <\/p>\n<p>While concurring with the court\u2019s judgement, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas authored a separate opinion in the matter. Joined by Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the Bush 41 appointee explained why he believed the 4th Circuit\u2019s ruling \u201cwas also wrong on the merits.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Fourth Circuit\u2019s analysis bears little resemblance to legal interpretation. Neither the President\u2019s view that he can remove federal executive officials \u2026 nor his having done so, change the meaning of the statute or the binding nature of this Court\u2019s interpretation of it,\u201d Thomas wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The senior justice went on to note that the judiciary lacks the authority to \u201c\u2018rewrite the statutory scheme in order to approximate what we think Congress might have wanted had it known that\u2019 the President or courts may conclude that its removal restrictions were \u2018beyond its authority.&#8217;\u201d He further underscored that laws \u201cchange only when Congress changes them, not when judges decide that they no longer vindicate Congress\u2019s purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs Judge Quattlebaum wrote in dissent, the Fourth Circuit\u2019s decision below \u2018undermines important principles of our system of justice,\u2019 including that law remains law despite the \u2018political controversies of the day,&#8217;\u201d Thomas concluded. <\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/4th-circuit-court-of-appeals\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">4th Circuit Court of Appeals<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/amy-coney-barrett\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Amy Coney Barrett<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/clarence-thomas\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Clarence Thomas<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/free-speech\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">free speech<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/immigration\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Immigration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/immigration-judges\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">immigration judges<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/judiciary\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">judiciary<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/jurisdiction\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">jurisdiction<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/scotus\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">SCOTUS<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court unanimously backs Trump on immigration judges\u2019 \u201cwork-related speech\u201d policy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2606939,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States_swag.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3813,80284,33211,6994,3634],"class_list":["post-2606938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-immigration","tag-immigration-judges-2","tag-legal-news","tag-scotus","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States_swag.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2606938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2606938"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2606938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2606943,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2606938\/revisions\/2606943"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2606939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2606938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2606938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2606938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}