US Supreme Court Clears Path for Trump Administration to Resume Deportations to Third Countries
In a pivotal 6-3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court has authorized the Trump administration to proceed with deporting migrants to third countries, even if those destinations are not their homelands. The decision overturns a lower court’s directive that required the federal government to provide migrants with an opportunity to express concerns about potential dangers in those countries.
The court’s conservative majority sided with the government, while the three liberal justices dissented, warning that the move undermines basic legal protections and puts lives at risk.
The case originated from the deportation of eight individuals from countries including Myanmar, Cuba, Mexico, Vietnam, Laos, and South Sudan. These individuals were deported in May aboard a flight allegedly bound for South Sudan. The Trump administration labeled the group as comprising violent offenders, though legal representatives argued that many had no criminal convictions.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, issued a strong dissent, calling the ruling a “gross abuse” of judicial discretion. Sotomayor criticized the majority’s silence on the humanitarian risks, stating, “Apparently, the court finds the idea that thousands will suffer violence in far-flung locales more palatable than the remote possibility that a district court exceeded its powers.”
The Department of Homeland Security hailed the decision as a win for national security. “Fire up the deportation planes,” said spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, reflecting the administration’s tough stance on immigration enforcement.
Legal experts and immigrant advocacy groups expressed alarm. Trina Realmuto, executive director of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, described the decision as “horrifying,” warning that it leaves vulnerable migrants at risk of “torture and death.”
The initial injunction had been issued by U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston, who ruled that migrants should be given the opportunity to explain why deportation to a third country could put them in grave danger. The government challenged that ruling, arguing that it created logistical and legal obstacles to deporting individuals already deemed removable.
U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer said the government had to resort to holding the migrants in temporary facilities abroad, including in Djibouti, due to legal blocks on deportation. He emphasized that many of the deportees’ home countries refuse to accept them back, leaving U.S. authorities with few options.
This ruling is the latest in a series of immigration-related victories for President Trump. In recent weeks, the Supreme Court allowed him to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans, impacting roughly 350,000 individuals. Another decision enabled the administration to pause a humanitarian parole program that had permitted over 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to remain temporarily in the U.S.
The court’s latest decision strengthens the administration’s hand as it pushes forward with its broader goal of scaling back immigration and increasing deportations as part of its national security agenda.