Nidal Khalid Nasrallah, Petitioner v. William P. Barr

Summary

The Supreme Court held that 8 U.S.C. §§ 1252(a)(2)(C) and (D), which bar judicial review of factual challenges to final orders of removal for noncitizens convicted of specified crimes, do not bar judicial review of factual challenges to Convention Against Torture (CAT) orders. A CAT order is distinct from a final order of removal, does not affect its validity, and therefore does not merge into it; factual challenges to CAT orders are instead reviewed under the highly deferential substantial-evidence standard of § 1252(b)(4)(B). The Court rejected the Government's reliance on Foti, its structural and congressional-intent arguments, and its delay and slippery-slope objections, while reserving whether factual challenges to statutory withholding orders are reviewable. It accordingly reversed the Eleventh Circuit's judgment, which had declined to review Nasrallah's factual challenges to the Board's denial of CAT relief.