US Supreme Court allows Trump to resume deportations to third countries
Supreme critics warn it puts lives at risk; liberal justices strongly dissent.
In a controversial move, the U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s administration to restart deporting migrants to countries other than their homeland — even if those places may be dangerous.
On Monday, the court’s conservative majority lifted a lower court’s order that had previously protected migrants by allowing them to challenge these third-country deportations. The ruling came without a detailed explanation, which is common for emergency cases. However, all three liberal justices—Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—firmly disagreed.
What’s the issue?
This decision centers around the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration strategy, which includes plans to deport millions of undocumented individuals from the U.S. Some of those migrants may be sent to countries they’ve never lived in — places like South Sudan, which has seen ongoing violence and instability.
In fact, back in May, U.S. officials put eight migrants on a plane to South Sudan. These individuals, from countries like Myanmar, Cuba, and Vietnam, had been convicted of violent crimes in the U.S. But after a judge intervened, the flight was rerouted to a U.S. naval base in Djibouti, where the migrants were held in poor conditions — inside a converted shipping container.
Justice Sotomayor’s warning
Justice Sotomayor issued a strong 19-page dissent, warning that the court’s action could lead to “thousands” of migrants being sent to countries where they might face torture or death.
She criticized the government’s actions, saying it appears determined to deport people “without notice or an opportunity to be heard,” ignoring basic legal rights.
Legal experts and advocacy groups react
Trina Realmuto, head of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, called the ruling “horrifying” and promised continued legal challenges on behalf of affected migrants.
Meanwhile, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson praised the court’s decision as a “MAJOR win” for national security, though the agency declined to comment further.
What did the original judge say?
The decision overturns a previous ruling by District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston. He had said migrants must be allowed to argue that deporting them to a third country would put them in serious danger — even if they’ve already gone through all other legal appeals.
Murphy emphasized that his ruling didn’t ban third-country deportations, but it did require that people at least have a chance to speak up if their lives were at risk.
His earlier ruling also led to a deported Guatemalan man — who is gay and had reported being raped and extorted in Mexico — being returned to the U.S. This man, identified only as OCG in court documents, was the first known deportee brought back under Trump’s second term.
Key Takeaway:
The Supreme Court’s decision gives the Trump administration the green light to deport migrants to third countries without allowing them to challenge the move — raising serious human rights concerns from legal experts and immigrant advocates.
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