Can cooking for terrorists bar asylum? Supreme Court takes up unusual case with broader immigration stakes

The Supreme Court will decide whether doing everyday chores for a terrorist group, such as cooking, bars a person from asylum. The justices accepted the Trump administration's appeal Tuesday, and the result could affect how aggressively the government deports immigrants accused of aiding terrorism, according to Fox News.

The case involves Izuchukwu Ozurumba, a Nigerian citizen forced to prepare thousands of meals for the Unknown Gunmen, a militant group tied to political violence in Nigeria. A 4th Circuit panel voted 2-1 to throw out his removal order and return the matter to the Board of Immigration Appeals. He had already been sent to Nigeria in April 2025, while his appeal was pending.

The Immigration and Nationality Act denies asylum to people giving "material support" to terrorist groups. Congress listed examples such as transportation, housing, money, weapons and training but left the term undefined. Bryce Poole of Advancing American Freedom told Fox News Digital that the statute is expansive while the court's reading was restrictive. The case arrives two years after the justices ended Chevron deference, giving judges more power over statutory meaning.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Fox News’s reporting. Read the full story at Fox News →