On Thursday, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump demanded that the U.S. Supreme Court to lift restrictions on the deportation of undocumented immigrants to third countries.
The administration filed an emergency petition with the court—where conservative justices hold a decisive majority— following an appellate court ruling on September 18 that essentially upheld a decision issued in February by a federal judge in Boston.
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Judge Brian Murphy had ruled at the time that people facing deportation to countries other than their home countries must be able to invoke the risk of persecution or torture.
The Trump administration argues that deportations to third countries are a “necessary tool” for removing from the country foreign nationals whom it characterizes “the worst foreign criminals.”
Its legal counsel, John Sauer, cited “substantive procedural problems” arising from the lower court’s ruling and urged the Supreme Court “to put an end to this chaos.”
For example, “the Department of Homeland Security has informed us that it has already canceled a flight to three countries that was to transport 70 foreign nationals” who have “criminal convictions” on their records, he added.
He defended the new guidelines, established by the ministry in 2025 regarding deportations to third countries, which were deemed “illegal” by Judge Murphy and the appellate court.
According to the new guidelines, deportations to third countries are permitted only on the condition that the receiving country guarantees that the individuals being deported “will not be persecuted or tortured” and that the State Department deems these assurances “reliable,” with no possibility of appeal or challenge.
When the executive branch determines that a third country neither tortures nor persecutes anyone, this must be considered true and “credible,” Mr. Sauer argued.
The Supreme Court gave the opposing side until Monday evening to respond.
The issue at stake is whether “the government can, without warning, deport someone to a country (…) where they may face persecution or torture,” Judge Murphy explained in his February ruling.
He ruled that individuals subject to deportation orders to third countries must be given advance notice, and then be given sufficient time to file appeals, in accordance with the United Nations Convention Against Torture.
In this specific case, the judge ordered the deportation of a group of migrants—mostly nationals of Asian countries— to South Sudan, a poor country mired in bloody civil conflicts.
However, the Supreme Court—to which the Trump administration filed an emergency appeal—approved the deportation to South Sudan, where the migrants were transported in July 2025.
Source: CNA
