The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to continue to deport illegal immigrants to third countries for now, while also setting oral arguments in the case for December.
The high court ruled 6-3 in favor of halting a ruling by a federal district judge in Massachusetts that had blocked the administration’s framework for quickly deporting illegal immigrants with final removal orders to countries other than their country of origin, referred to as “third countries.” The federal district court judge took issue with immigration officials not allowing the illegal immigrants an opportunity to raise fears of torture or persecution regarding the third country they would be deported to, a ruling the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld earlier this month.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson said they would have declined the Department of Justice’s request to halt the lower court’s ruling. The six-justice majority did not explain its rationale for the decision.
While the high court granted the DOJ’s emergency petition to allow third-country deportations to continue, it also announced it would take up the case for full-merits arguments during its December oral argument sitting.
The brief order from the Supreme Court asked the two sides to file briefs addressing whether the district court had jurisdiction to hear the claims from the illegal immigrants, or if the lower court had the authority to issue the order blocking the policy, along with whether the Trump administration’s third-country deportation policy violates federal law.
The Supreme Court could hear arguments in Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D. on either Nov. 30, Dec. 1, Dec. 2, Dec. 7, Dec. 8, or Dec. 9, with a ruling in the case expected by the end of June 2027. The unsigned order from the Supreme Court said the policy would remain in effect until a ruling following oral arguments is issued.
TODD BLANCHE VOWS SUPREME COURT APPEAL AFTER COURT BLOCKS THIRD-COUNTRY DEPORTATIONS
The Trump administration has had various immigration cases make their way to the Supreme Court, winning every case except the birthright citizenship case during the last term.
During the next Supreme Court term, the justices are set to grapple with a case with major implications for asylum-seekers alongside the challenge to third country deportations. The high court may also take up a challenge to the administration’s mandatory detention policy for illegal immigrants, which has bitterly divided appeals courts across the country.