Supreme Court to weigh if Nigerian who cooked for terrorists can be denied asylum

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider the Trump administration’s bid to deny asylum to a man officials say provided material support to terrorists in Nigeria by cooking food for them.

The case involving Izuchukwu Ozurumba focuses on a provision of immigration law that bars anyone from entering the U.S. if they have “engaged in terrorist activity,” which includes providing material support.

The Trump administration has cracked down on asylum claims as part of its broader anti-immigration policy.

Ozurumba claims he took the job working as a camp cook in 2022 before finding out that it was run by a separatist group called the Unknown Gunmen. He worked there for about six months, half of which was unpaid, before escaping, he said.

Ozurumba sought asylum in the U.S. after crossing the southern border in July 2023, claiming members of the Unknown Gunmen had threatened to kill him.

An immigration judge initially rejected his asylum claim, finding that Ozurumba had provided material support to the group by cooking three meals a day.

Ozurumba was subsequently deported in April 2025, but his case continued, and five months later the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in his favor, saying that cooking did not qualify as material support.

The justices will hear arguments and issue a ruling later in the court term, which runs until June.

In the coming weeks, they will also decide whether to hear the Trump administration’s appeal seeking to maintain a broad block on asylum claims at the U.S.-Mexico border.