The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal filed by the Trump administration over how it is required to process asylum seekers at the border.

The case centers on whether a migrant who is stopped on the Mexican side of the border is “in” the United States when it comes to filing an asylum claim under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court’s decision that an asylum seeker stopped on the Mexican side of the border had still arrived in the United States and may apply for asylum.

The Obama administration had put in place a system of “metering” during surges of people at the border and asylum seekers were turned away instead of being processed and put into the asylum system. President Trump continued the policy when he entered office for his first term.

A group of immigrants rights groups and asylum seekers had filed the lawsuit saying the policy violated federal law. They asked the Supreme Court to reject the case and leave the lower court’s ruling in place, noting that the policy was no longer even in place after the Biden administration ended it.

Mr. Trump says the issue is still relevant and the administration would likely resume the use of metering if the Supreme Court reverses the decision. The administration argues that the lower court’s ruling of what “arrive in” is wrong.

“Allied forces did not ‘arrive in’ Normandy while they were still crossing the English Channel. A letter does not ‘arrive in’ the mailbox while it is still in the postal worker’s satchel.  And a running back does not ‘arrive in’ the end zone when he is stopped at the one-yard line,” administration lawyers stated in their brief to the court.

The administration says the lower court decision deprives the Department of Homeland Security of a critical tool for controlling the processing of asylum seekers during surges at the border.

The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of several of President Trump’s policies since he returned to the White House, including allowing the administration to deport migrants to countries other than their own.

Mr. Trump declared a state of emergency at the southern border on his first day back in the White House and called in some 5,000 active-duty military and National Guard troops to support law enforcement activities at the border. In the months that have followed, the administration reports that illegal crossings have dropped to almost zero.

Mr. Trump also instituted a different ban on most border asylum claims shortly after returning to office. That ban also faces a legal challenge.