Washington, D.C. |The U.S. Supreme Court has authorized the Trump administration to restart deporting migrants to third countries, even if those nations are not the individuals’ countries of origin. In a 6–3 decision, the court reversed an earlier federal ruling that required immigration authorities to allow migrants to explain potential risks they may face in those destinations.
The ruling followed a challenge involving eight migrants from Myanmar, South Sudan, Cuba, Mexico, Laos, and Vietnam. They were deported in May aboard a flight reportedly bound for South Sudan. Government officials claimed the individuals posed a significant public safety threat.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the ruling “is a victory for the safety and security of the American people.” In a brief statement after the decision, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said, “Fire up the deportation planes.”
The Trump administration argued that the migrants were convicted of serious crimes, including murder, arson, and armed robbery. But lawyers representing the group disputed that claim in court filings, saying some had no criminal records.
In April, a Boston federal judge ruled that the government had violated migrants’ rights by removing them without giving them a chance to argue that deportation to a third country could lead to torture or death. That decision temporarily blocked the removals and mandated procedural protections under constitutional and international law.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for the court’s liberal minority, called the majority’s decision “a gross abuse.” She warned it strips thousands of vulnerable individuals of basic legal protections. “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.
The majority issued its decision unsigned, offering no explanation for its reversal.
The National Immigration Litigation Alliance, which represents the deported migrants, called the ruling “horrifying,” citing fears for the safety of deportees sent to unstable regions with documented risks of abuse.
Under current U.S. law, deportations to third countries are rare but legal under certain agreements. The court’s decision now sets a precedent allowing federal immigration authorities broader discretion in such removals despite objections from human rights advocates and legal experts.
