Mullin v. Al Otro Lado · ¶47

To bolster their argument, respondents assert that we should reject the Government’s interpretation because it yields “pure” surplusage. Ibid. That charge, which the principal dissent repeats, is mistaken. Still, it is true that if “arrives in the United States” means “sets foot on U. S. soil,” then this category of aliens is a subset of those who are “physically present in the United States.” What explains this redundancy?

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