Supreme Court clears Trump to resume third-country deportations

What the Supreme Court decided

The United States Supreme Court has allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to continue third-country deportations, halting a lower-court ruling that paused such removals over questions of due process. The high court granted the administration’s emergency request to resume the deportations, which involve sending immigrants to countries they may have no connection to. The court’s order is temporary and calls for arguments to be heard in December.

The decision was unsigned and did not include an explanation of how the justices voted. However, the three left-leaning justices—Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Elena Kagan—indicated they would have denied the Trump administration’s petition. The move clears the way for federal officials to enforce rapid third-country removals for now while the broader legality of the policy is debated.

Why the lower court paused the deportations

A lower court ruling by Judge Brian Murphy had paused the deportations, finding that immigrants must be given a “meaningful” chance to raise safety concerns before their removal to third-party countries. The court indicated that some immigrants may have been denied the opportunity to challenge their deportations as part of their due process rights. The ruling required that people targeted with deportation receive effective notice ahead of time about where they are being sent.

Critics of the practice argue that the lower court ruling did not fully block all third-country deportations, but rather required them to be done lawfully. The Trump administration’s solicitor general, John Sauer, told the Supreme Court that the lower court ruling created substantial logistical problems with removals and that rapid deportation to third countries is an essential tool to remove certain aliens.

Background on the policy

Third-country deportations have been used to bypass court protection orders that prevent immigrants from being sent back to their home countries due to fears of persecution. The Trump administration has argued that third-country deportations are necessary since the home nations of some targeted individuals sometimes refuse to accept them. At least 35 countries have signed agreements with the Trump administration to take in the third-country nationals, according to the nonprofits Refugees International and Human Rights First.

The groups estimate that more than 25,000 people have been subject to third-country deportations so far. In June 2025, the Supreme Court also issued an unsigned order allowing such removals to proceed, which cleared the way for eight men, including nationals of Cuba, Myanmar, and Vietnam, to be deported to South Sudan. Critics have expressed concern that many of the governments receiving third-country deportations have a record of human rights abuses.

Sources and context

aljazeera.com — US Supreme Court allows Trump to continue third-country deportations

france24.com — US Supreme Court lifts restrictions on third-country deportations

abcnews.com — Supreme Court allows rapid deportations to 3rd countries, agrees to hear case