Supreme Court to weigh scope of immigration support bar

The Supreme Court agreed on Oct. 13, 2026, to consider whether support for a terrorist organization must advance its actual commission of terrorism to trigger the immigration-law material-support bar. The provision can bar a noncitizen from admission to the United States and affect asylum eligibility.

The government sought review, arguing that cooking for members of the organization can qualify as material support. Ozurumba’s account is that he was held and forced to cook.

In 2025, a divided Fourth Circuit panel vacated the Board of Immigration Appeals’ removal order and sent the case back for further proceedings. The majority concluded Ozurumba’s cooking did not meet the material-support standard it applied; one judge dissented. The appeals court opinion records that Ozurumba’s attorneys said the government removed him to Nigeria on April 1, 2025. The court declined at that stage to order his return.

The Supreme Court’s grant does not resolve the legal question, decide Ozurumba’s asylum eligibility or reverse the Fourth Circuit’s ruling. Merits proceedings are next; the court docket had no oral-argument date listed as of Oct. 17, 2026.