US Supreme Court temporarily clears way for third-country deportations
The unsigned emergency order pauses a lower-court requirement for people to have a meaningful chance to raise safety concerns before removal. The appeal is scheduled for December.
The US Supreme Court has temporarily allowed the Trump administration to resume deporting immigrants to countries with which they may have no connection, pausing a lower-court ruling on due-process protections.
The unsigned order gave no reasons and disclosed no vote tally. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan indicated they would have rejected the administration’s request.
The paused ruling, issued by Judge Brian Murphy in Boston, required immigrants to have a meaningful chance to raise safety concerns before being removed to a third country. The Supreme Court’s order does not resolve the underlying appeal, which is scheduled for argument in December.
The administration has expanded third-country removals since 2025. Refugees International and Human Rights First estimate that at least 35 countries have agreements to receive deportees and that more than 25,000 people have been subject to such removals.
The figures are estimates from the two advocacy groups. The court’s temporary order does not specify how many people may be removed under it or when removals could occur.
