Trump administration asks Supreme Court to resume third-country deportations

The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to permit the immediate resumption of deportations to third countries without allowing migrants to first raise concerns about potential torture, after a federal appeals court halted the controversial policy late Wednesday. US Solicitor General D. John Sauer submitted the emergency request arguing that the Boston-based 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals ruling had created significant operational challenges for immigration authorities, resulting in canceled flights, increased costs, and possible diplomatic complications. The administration noted it had already removed nearly 150 migrants from scheduled departures to at least four different countries, complicating efforts to remove individuals considered dangerous criminals.

Policy targets migrants with no ties to destination nations

The policy permits deporting migrants to nations other than their countries of origin, even when they lack personal or family connections to those destinations, addressing longstanding difficulties in returning individuals to countries unwilling to accept them. It attracted scrutiny after advocacy groups revealed that migrants from Cuba, Vietnam, and Laos—originally slated for South Sudan—were instead detained for weeks at a US military facility in Djibouti in converted shipping containers. Approximately 25,000 migrants have been removed under the program since its introduction last year as part of broader immigration enforcement efforts.

Legal challenge invokes torture convention

The legal dispute centers on the Convention Against Torture, which the US ratified in 1994 and which generally bars deporting individuals to countries where they face torture risks. However, the statute does not clearly specify procedural requirements for assessing such risks or what protections migrants should receive before removal. The administration previously secured Supreme Court approval to continue the policy despite objections from Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, and later won a separate case involving the Djibouti detainees.

Court sets Monday deadline for challengers

The Supreme Court on Thursday instructed immigrant rights organizations to respond to the emergency request by Monday afternoon. The Justice Department seeks an administrative stay to resume flights immediately while litigation continues. Previous rulings have allowed the administration to deport approximately 25,000 migrants under the contested policy despite ongoing legal challenges.