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FILE PHOTO: The US Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., as the court reviews a case involving allegations of material support for terrorism.
US Supreme Court to Review Asylum Case of Nigerian Cook
WASHINGTON — October 14, 2026
The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear the Trump administration’s effort to deny asylum to a Nigerian man who says he was forced to cook for an apparent separatist group in Nigeria. The case could affect how US immigration authorities interpret laws that bar non-US citizens from entering the country if they provide support to terrorist organizations.
The justices agreed on Tuesday to review the Justice Department’s appeal involving Izuchukwu Ozurumba, whose asylum application was rejected because he prepared meals for a group known as the Unknown Gunmen. US immigration officials considered the group a terrorist organization. A lower federal appeals court later ruled that Ozurumba’s cooking did not qualify as material support for terrorism under immigration law.
The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments and issue a decision by the end of June. The administration has argued that allowing the lower court’s ruling to stand would make it harder for the government to exclude non-citizens with links to terrorism.
The dispute centers on how immigration law defines “material support” for terrorist activity. The law can prevent people from receiving immigration protections if they have engaged in terrorist activity or provided support to a group designated as a terrorist organization. Ozurumba’s lawyers argue that the government is interpreting those rules too broadly in a case involving work he says he was forced to perform.
According to court filings, Ozurumba accepted a job in 2022 after receiving a tip about work at a remote camp outside Lagos. He later learned that the camp was run by the Unknown Gunmen, a group believed to be associated with Nigerian separatists, the filings said.
Ozurumba’s lawyers said he noticed that the men’s movements from the camp appeared to coincide with news reports of killings and arson. He tried to leave but was forced to remain and work without pay, they said. After about six months, he escaped while accompanying others on a trip to obtain supplies.
His lawyers said Ozurumba subsequently faced beatings and death threats, prompting him to flee Nigeria for Venezuela. They said the threats continued there, and he later travelled to the southern US border, entering the country without authorization in July 2023. He then applied for asylum and other protection against deportation.
During former President Joe Biden’s administration, an immigration judge ruled that the Unknown Gunmen qualified as a terrorist organization and that Ozurumba’s cooking made him ineligible for protection. The judge reasoned that preparing food met the group’s basic needs and helped it pursue its objectives. The judge also found that the fact Ozurumba had allegedly worked under duress did not change the decision.
Ozurumba was deported to Nigeria last year while his case was on appeal. In September 2025, the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, Virginia, ruled in his favor. It found that he had been a captive laborer and that his cooking did not constitute material support because the meals provided nothing the organization could readily use or redirect to plan or carry out terrorist acts. The appeals court did not order the government to bring him back to the United States while the case continued.
The Justice Department has challenged that ruling before the Supreme Court, arguing that providing meals to members of a terrorist organization can qualify as material support, just as supplying fuel for its vehicles can. A lawyer helping represent Ozurumba said the case raises concerns about the government using an overly broad interpretation of the law to deny asylum to people who provided no meaningful support to a terrorist group.
The Supreme Court’s decision could clarify how immigration authorities assess assistance provided to such organizations, including whether work performed under coercion falls within the legal restrictions. The court’s ruling will determine how the law applies to Ozurumba’s case and may influence similar asylum disputes.
