The United States Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the Trump administration, allowing federal immigration authorities to resume deporting migrants to third countries, even if those destinations are not their country of origin.
In a 6-3 decision, the court overturned a lower court’s ruling that had required the government to provide migrants with a “meaningful opportunity” to explain potential dangers they might face if deported to a third country.
The justices determined that federal immigration law grants broad discretion to the executive branch in deciding removal procedures.
The three liberal justices—Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—dissented, arguing that the decision undermines the legal protections owed to vulnerable individuals and effectively “rewards lawlessness.”
The case centers on eight migrants from Myanmar, South Sudan, Cuba, Mexico, Laos, and Vietnam who were deported in May on a U.S. government-chartered plane, reportedly headed for South Sudan.
The Trump administration defended the deportations, saying the individuals involved represented “the worst of the worst” due to their criminal records or immigration violations.
