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Supreme Court Case TrackerThe Court, in plain English

Emergency application

Department of Homeland Security v. D. V. D.

Granted
No. 26A406Stay applicationFiled by the federal governmentPresented to Justice JacksonFrom United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

What did the Court do?

The Court granted the request on September 29, 2026: the lower court's ruling is on hold while the appeal continues.

Emergency rulings are temporary and do not decide the underlying case. Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kagan, and Justice Jackson would have ruled the other way.

Filed Ruled 5 days after filing

What's being asked

The federal government asks the Supreme Court to pause (stay) a lower-court ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit while the appeal continues. The case is Department of Homeland Security v. D. V. D..

What the Court did

Application (26A406) for stay presented to Justice Jackson and by her referred to the Court is granted. The February 25, 2026 order and judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, case No. 1:25-cv-10676, are stayed. The application is also treated as a petition for a writ of certiorari, and the petition is granted (case No. 26-426). The parties are directed to brief and argue the following questions: (1) Whether the district court had jurisdiction over Respondents’ claims. (2) Whether the district court had authority to enter classwide declaratory relief and APA vacatur under 8 U. S. C. §1252(f)(1). (3) Whether the Government’s Guidance on third-country removals is unlawful under 8 U. S. C. §1231(b), the Due Process Clause, or FARRA/CAT and its implementing regulations. (4) Such other questions that the Government determines are appropriate for the proper disposition of the case. The Clerk is directed to establish a briefing schedule that will allow the case to be argued in the December 2026 argument session. The stay shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of this Court. Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kagan, and Justice Jackson would deny the application for stay.

  • Dissented
  • Vote not published
Dissenting · 3recorded against the Court's order
  1. Sotomayorwould deny
  2. Kaganwould deny
  3. Jacksonwould deny
Vote not published · 6the order does not say how they voted
  1. Roberts
  2. Thomas
  3. Alito
  4. Gorsuch
  5. Kavanaugh
  6. Barrett
The order records the positions of 3 of 9 justices. The Court usually does not say how each justice voted on an emergency application, so the rest are shown as not published.
Days from filing to a ruling for 54 rulings on applications where the Court asked for a response since January 1, 2025: half took between 10 and 28 days (the band), and the median was 16 days (the tick). The mark is this application: ruled 5 days after filing.

What it means

This is a temporary order about what happens while the case is decided, not a ruling on who is right. The case continues in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Sources

Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 26A406. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.

Checked October 1, 2026