- Supreme Court approves deportation of migrants to third countries
- Three liberal justices dissent, calling the ruling a “gross abuse” of judicial power
- Trump administration labels deportees “the worst of the worst:Trump administration labels deportees “the worst of the worst"
The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the deportation of eight migrants to third countries, rejecting concerns that they may face torture or death. The decision overturned a lower court ruling requiring the government to give migrants an opportunity to argue against removal to such destinations.
The case involved individuals from Myanmar, South Sudan, Cuba, Mexico, Laos, and Vietnam who were deported in May on a flight reportedly bound for South Sudan. The Trump administration labeled them “the worst of the worst,” citing serious crimes such as murder, arson, and armed robbery. However, attorneys for the migrants argued that several had no criminal convictions.
Boston-based U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy had previously ruled in April that the government must allow migrants to contest their deportation if they face danger in a third country, even if all other legal avenues had been exhausted. He issued an injunction, which the government was found to have violated.
The court’s three liberal justices—Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—dissented strongly. In a scathing opinion, Justice Sotomayor condemned the majority’s unsigned ruling as a “gross abuse” of judicial discretion, accusing the court of “rewarding lawlessness.”
“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 remedial powers,” she wrote, calling the majority’s stance “incomprehensible and inexcusable.”
The Department of Homeland Security celebrated the ruling as “a victory for the safety and security of the American people.” Spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin responded bluntly: “Fire up the deportation planes.”
The National Immigration Litigation Alliance, which represents the deported individuals, condemned the decision. Executive Director Trina Realmuto called it “horrifying” and warned it exposed their clients to “torture and death.”
Following Judge Murphy’s original ruling, the deported individuals were temporarily held in Djibouti, where the U.S. maintains a military base. Solicitor General John Sauer argued that agents had to convert a conference room into a makeshift detention center, adding that some migrants could not be returned to their home countries because those nations refuse to accept them.
He claimed this situation allows dangerous individuals to remain in the U.S., “victimizing law-abiding Americans.”
This ruling is the latest in a string of Supreme Court decisions favoring former President Trump’s immigration agenda. Last month, the Court upheld Trump’s plan to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelan nationals, impacting approximately 350,000 people. In another May decision, the justices allowed a temporary halt to a humanitarian program that had granted two-year stays to nearly half a million migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
