President Donald Trump’s administration has asked the US Supreme Court to intervene in its efforts to swiftly deport certain migrants to third countries — nations other than their own — without allowing them to raise claims of fear of persecution, torture, or death.
The Justice Department on Tuesday requested that the court lift a nationwide injunction issued by Boston-based US District Judge Brian Murphy. The injunction requires that migrants be given the opportunity to seek legal protection before being deported to so-called third countries while the case continues.
In its filing, the administration argued that the third-country process is essential for removing migrants who have committed serious crimes, since their countries of origin often refuse to accept them.
“As a result, criminal aliens are often allowed to stay in the United States for years on end, victimising law-abiding Americans in the meantime,” the filing stated.
The request marks the administration’s latest appeal to the nation’s highest court, as it continues its battle to implement Trump’s hardline immigration agenda amid lower court rulings that have delayed or blocked key policies.
The Justice Department warned that Murphy’s injunction threatens to derail “sensitive diplomatic, foreign policy and national security efforts,” and is halting thousands of deportations.
In February, the Department of Homeland Security moved to reassess whether migrants granted protection from deportation to their home countries could instead be sent to a third country.
In March, the administration issued guidance stating that if a third country provides diplomatic assurances that it will not persecute or torture migrants, deportation can proceed without additional safeguards. Without such assurances, migrants expressing fear would be assessed for potential risk and possibly referred to immigration courts.
In April, Judge Murphy issued a preliminary injunction, saying the administration’s policy of “executing third-country removals without providing notice and a meaningful opportunity to present fear-based claims” likely violates the due process protections of the Fifth Amendment.
Murphy cited the US Constitution, Supreme Court precedent, Congress, “common sense” and “basic decency” in asserting that migrants must be afforded the right to defend themselves against removal to potentially dangerous locations.
The 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals declined on 16 May to stay Murphy’s ruling.
On 21 May, Murphy ruled that the administration violated his order by attempting to deport migrants to South Sudan.
The Justice Department said the US now faces an “intolerable choice”: either keep the migrants detained on foreign soil — posing risks to diplomatic relations — or return them to the US.
Murphy also ordered that non-citizens be given at least 10 days to present claims of fear. He modified his injunction further to prevent the Department of Homeland Security from transferring custody of migrants to other agencies, such as the Department of Defense, to circumvent court orders.
This followed reports that the Defence Department had flown four Venezuelan detainees from Guantanamo Bay to El Salvador despite the injunction. Murphy warned that any such future deportations, including reports involving Libya, would “clearly violate” his ruling.
