Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan on Wednesday rejected an emergency appeal from four Mexican nationals seeking to delay deportation. The appeal requested a temporary stay to allow time for filing a formal petition for review. Kagan denied the request without comment and did not refer the case to the full Court.
The petitioners—Fabian Lagunas Espinoza, Maria Angelica Flores Ulloa, and their two sons—were ordered to report to immigration authorities on Thursday. Their attorneys argued they risk exposure to cartel violence if returned to Mexico, Fox News reported. According to their court filing, the family fled Guerrero, Mexico, in 2021 after receiving threats from the Los Rojos drug cartel. The petition claimed cartel members ordered them to leave their home within 24 hours or face death.
The filing also described past acts of violence against extended family members, including beatings and threats after they refused to cooperate with the cartel. The family entered the U.S. unlawfully and applied for asylum, but an immigration judge denied their request. That decision was upheld by the Board of Immigration Appeals in November 2023 and later affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in February 2025. A temporary stay of removal was lifted on April 7.
In their emergency appeal to Justice Kagan, the family argued that lower courts and immigration authorities failed to properly consider credible evidence and violated their due process rights. Under Supreme Court protocol, each justice is responsible for emergency appeals from designated judicial circuits. As the justice assigned to the Ninth Circuit, Elena Kagan had the authority to decide the matter on her own or refer it to the full Court. She chose to deny the application without referring it further.
In their filing, the petitioners’ attorney, LeRoy George Siddell, wrote: “Petitioners face imminent removal and have been directed to report to immigration office on 4/17/2025, despite credible and detailed testimony and documentary evidence showing they are targets of cartel violence due to their family ties and refusal to comply with extortion demands.” As of Thursday morning, the petitioners were required to report to U.S. immigration authorities, and their status is yet to be determined, Fox added.
