The USA Can Deport People To Countries They’ve Never Been, Supreme Court Decides

On Monday, June 23, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration can resume deporting people they believe to be illegal immigrants to countries they are not from.

In April, US District Judge Brian Murphy of Massachusetts had temporarily blocked the administration from deporting individuals to “third-country” nations—nations they are not from. However, the injunction only required that the individuals be notified with at least 15 days to challenge their deportation.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had “wrongfully deported one plaintiff to Guatemala, even though an Immigration Judge found he was likely to face torture there.” They have deported hundreds of people to third-countries like Guantanamo Bay, El Salvador, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama and South Sudan.

And in May, Judge Murphy found that federal officials had violated the nationwide order by deporting more than six people to South Sudan. A timely intervention prevented more individuals from being wrongfully deported to Libya.

Third-country removals such as this are “permissible only after the Government tries each and every alternative,” and individuals are also able to raise an objection to their deportation if there are substantial grounds to believe that they would be tortured or otherwise punished.

Although the District Court found that the government had violated the order not to deport people to third-nations, on June 23 the Supreme Court granted the Trump administration’s request to put Judge Murphy’s order on hold in an “emergency stay.”  They are now legally allowed to deport people to third-countries, given they comply with the protocols they have consistently disregarded.