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The Supreme Court Is Now Scarier Than Alligator Alcatraz
One small win for democracy was immediately ruined by the justices’ asylum ruling.
No Alligators, No Alcatraz, No … Asylum?
Decades from now, I imagine Depths of Wikipedia will post a screenshot about the long-forgotten Alligator Alcatraz, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ cruel and costly detention center in the Everglades, which he closed less than a year after it opened. In the comments section, people will wonder: Who builds a facility on an abandoned airstrip in the middle of a swamp? Did it really cost $1 billion? Did anyone actually get eaten by an alligator? And why on earth did they make such ugly merch for it?
...............
In a decision that redefines what it means to be heartless, the Supreme Court has held that by stopping asylum seekers from crossing the border, the US can avoid ever having to determine whether their lives are in danger if they return home. The majority opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, is a case study in the absurdities of legalism, and why it has been condemned since the days of Jesus of Nazareth.
In the majority opinion, the six conservative justices zeroed in on the part of the law that says an asylum seeker who “arrives in” the US must be given the chance to claim its protection. If they don’t actually step foot over the border, poof goes the statute, or so the logic goes. Noah says it undermines the entire purpose of asylum itself: To give the oppressed a chance to live a better life somewhere else.
“It is perverse to bar asylum applications from people who follow the rules and show up at established border crossings, while allowing asylum applications from those who manage to get across the border unlawfully,” Noah continues. What the court chose on Thursday was, in his view, “bad for the law, bad for the country, and bad for the world.” It’s also bad for the Statue of Liberty, which says, “give me your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Alligator Alcatraz might be out of the picture, but few are breathing easy.
No Alligators, No Alcatraz, No … Asylum?
Decades from now, I imagine Depths of Wikipedia will post a screenshot about the long-forgotten Alligator Alcatraz, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ cruel and costly detention center in the Everglades, which he closed less than a year after it opened. In the comments section, people will wonder: Who builds a facility on an abandoned airstrip in the middle of a swamp? Did it really cost $1 billion? Did anyone actually get eaten by an alligator? And why on earth did they make such ugly merch for it?
...............
In a decision that redefines what it means to be heartless, the Supreme Court has held that by stopping asylum seekers from crossing the border, the US can avoid ever having to determine whether their lives are in danger if they return home. The majority opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, is a case study in the absurdities of legalism, and why it has been condemned since the days of Jesus of Nazareth.
In the majority opinion, the six conservative justices zeroed in on the part of the law that says an asylum seeker who “arrives in” the US must be given the chance to claim its protection. If they don’t actually step foot over the border, poof goes the statute, or so the logic goes. Noah says it undermines the entire purpose of asylum itself: To give the oppressed a chance to live a better life somewhere else.
“It is perverse to bar asylum applications from people who follow the rules and show up at established border crossings, while allowing asylum applications from those who manage to get across the border unlawfully,” Noah continues. What the court chose on Thursday was, in his view, “bad for the law, bad for the country, and bad for the world.” It’s also bad for the Statue of Liberty, which says, “give me your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Alligator Alcatraz might be out of the picture, but few are breathing easy.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/newsletters/2026-06-25/supreme-court-asylum-ruling-is-now-scarier-than-alligator-alcatraz?srnd=homepage-americas