Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration to Resume Third-Country Deportations

by Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Staff

(Worthy News) – The Supreme Court on Monday granted a major victory to President Donald Trump, allowing his administration to resume deporting illegal immigrants to so-called third countries–nations where the deportees have no prior connection. The court’s unsigned order temporarily lifted a lower court injunction that had blocked the removals.

The decision, which came in Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D., drew a sharp divide on the bench. The court’s conservative majority backed the administration’s request, while Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, warning that the ruling could place migrants at risk of torture or death.

“In matters of life and death, it is best to proceed with caution,” Sotomayor wrote in her dissent, calling the decision a “gross abuse of the Court’s equitable discretion.”

The case centers on migrants who have been ordered removed from the U.S. but whose home countries refuse to accept them. U.S. law permits their deportation to a willing third country. A federal district court judge in Boston had required the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide written notice of the destination country and grant migrants time to raise objections based on potential persecution or torture. That ruling was put on hold by the Supreme Court.

The Trump administration argued that such requirements interfered with the president’s authority over immigration and foreign policy. “DHS can now execute its lawful authority and remove illegal aliens to a country willing to accept them,” said agency spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin, calling the court’s action “a victory for the safety and security of the American people.”

The administration cited sensitive diplomacy in arranging deportations to third countries and said delays were hampering efforts to remove serious criminals, including individuals convicted of murder, sexual assault, and other violent crimes. Officials pointed to a recent case in which eight migrants, some with serious criminal records, were bound for South Sudan before a federal judge intervened mid-flight.

Critics, including the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, argued that the Supreme Court’s decision strips migrants of essential due-process protections. “The order strips away critical due process protections that have been protecting our class members from torture and death,” said the group’s executive director, Trina Realmuto.

The administration’s plans to deport migrants to countries like South Sudan, which the U.S. State Department deems dangerous for most Americans, sparked fierce legal battles. In May, a plane carrying migrants with criminal convictions was diverted to Djibouti after a judge halted the removals. The migrants have since been housed in makeshift detention quarters near a U.S. military base as legal proceedings continue.

While the Supreme Court’s order allows deportations to proceed in the short term, the broader legal questions regarding third-country removals remain unresolved and will continue to be addressed in lower courts. The administration has signaled it intends to move swiftly to act on the decision.

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