Supreme Court Approves Deportation Flight to South Sudan \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that deportations to third countries like South Sudan can proceed. The decision overturns a federal judge’s order and affects eight migrants facing severe risk. Immigrants were rerouted to a naval base and now face potential torture or imprisonment.
Quick Looks
- Supreme Court clears deportation to third countries, including war-torn South Sudan
- Eight migrants detained on Djibouti naval base, awaiting forced removal
- SCOTUS overturns Judge Murphy’s order, ruling his injunction unenforceable
- Migrants face risk of torture and imprisonment, say advocates
- Dissent from Justices Sotomayor and Jackson, calling the decision dangerous
- DHS plans to complete deportation flight within 24 hours
- Part of Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown, targeting criminal noncitizens
Deep Look
In a late-breaking decision with sweeping implications, the U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for the deportation of eight migrants to South Sudan—a country plagued by violence, political unrest, and humanitarian crises. The ruling affirms the federal government’s authority to remove individuals to third countries, even if they face serious danger there, and immediately affects the migrants currently being held on a U.S. naval base in Djibouti.
The high court’s conservative majority sided with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), reversing lower court orders and enabling the long-delayed deportation flight to complete its journey. The eight migrants, all of whom were previously convicted of serious crimes in the U.S., had already received final removal orders. However, they were granted a temporary reprieve by Judge Brian Murphy in Massachusetts, who argued they must be given a real opportunity to contest deportation to any country where they might face torture or persecution.
Murphy’s order rerouted the May flight and led to the migrants being detained inside a converted shipping container at Camp Lemonnier, a U.S. military facility in Djibouti. His ruling emphasized that while he did not prohibit third-country deportations, the migrants’ rights under the Convention Against Torture entitled them to argue their case—even if their legal appeals had been exhausted.
The Supreme Court, in a brief unsigned order issued from its emergency docket, declared Murphy’s decision “unenforceable,” effectively overriding any attempt to block the deportation. The justices did not elaborate on the full legal reasoning, a common feature of rulings issued under the court’s shadow docket, which bypasses oral arguments and full opinions.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in dissent, warned that the decision grants disproportionate legal leeway to the executive branch. “Other litigants must follow the rules, but the administration has the Supreme Court on speed dial,” Sotomayor wrote, arguing the ruling undermines judicial checks on executive power.
Advocates expressed alarm over the consequences of the deportation. Trina Realmuto, executive director of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, emphasized that the men are at high risk in South Sudan, where political volatility has led to mass detentions and extrajudicial violence. “We know they’ll face perilous conditions, and potentially immediate detention, upon arrival,” Realmuto said.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed that the deportation flight would be completed within a day, hailing the Supreme Court’s intervention as a victory for “law, safety, and security.” Attorney General Pam Bondi went further, calling Judge Murphy a “rogue” judge whose order was “a lawless act of defiance.”
This ruling is the latest in a series of aggressive immigration enforcement actions by the Trump administration, which has pledged to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, particularly those with criminal convictions. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has also reportedly secured agreements with multiple countries to accept noncitizens who cannot be returned to their home nations for diplomatic or logistical reasons.
The eight men set to be deported have not been publicly identified, but reports indicate they come from countries other than South Sudan and have no familial or national ties there. Legal experts argue that the use of third-country deportation, while permitted under U.S. law, raises serious ethical and humanitarian concerns when there is a credible threat of torture or political persecution.
Judge Murphy, a Biden appointee, had attempted to strike a balance between the government’s removal authority and international human rights obligations. His view was that even those convicted of serious crimes are entitled to due process if deportation puts them in physical danger.
As of Thursday night, the men remained detained in Djibouti, though officials confirmed the final leg of the flight to South Sudan was imminent. Whether their deportation will prompt further legal action or international condemnation remains to be seen, but the ruling represents a significant escalation in the debate over how far the U.S. government can go in removing noncitizens under controversial conditions.
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