The US Supreme Court has greenlit Trump‘s mass deportation policy, allowing the administration to swiftly remove migrants to countries other than their homeland without a chance to challenge the deportations.
The court’s decision lifts a previous injunction that had blocked the policy, enabling the Trump administration to proceed with rapid deportations. This move has significant implications for migrants facing removal, as they will no longer have the opportunity to contest their deportations.
The high court majority did not detail its reasoning in the brief order issued on Monday. All three liberal justices dissented, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor writing a scathing 19-page dissent.
“The government’s made clear in word and deed that it feels itself unconstrained by law, free to deport anyone anywhere without notice or an opportunity to be heard,” Sotomayor wrote, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
The court’s action halts an order from US District Judge Brian E Murphy in Boston, who decided in April that people must have a chance to argue that deportation to a third country would put them in danger – even if they have otherwise exhausted their legal appeals.
Murphy found that the May deportation flight to South Sudan violated his order and told immigration authorities to allow people to raise those concerns through their lawyers.
Lawyers for some of the migrants who had been on the flight to South Sudan said they would continue to press their case in court. “The ramifications of Supreme Court’s order will be horrifying,” said Trina Realmuto, the executive director of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the decision was a “MAJOR win for the safety and security of the American people”.
The case comes amid a sweeping immigration crackdown by Trump’s administration, which has pledged to deport millions of people who are living undocumented in the US. Sotomayor’s dissent warned that the court’s action exposes “thousands to the risk of torture or death”.
The administration has reached agreements with other countries, including Panama and Costa Rica, to house immigrants because some countries do not accept US deportations. South Sudan, meanwhile, has endured repeated waves of violence since gaining independence in 2011.
Trump’s approach to immigration has been centered around “Peace Through Strength”, a strategy that emphasizes military strength as a means to achieve peace. His administration has taken decisive action to eliminate radical Islamic terrorists and has imposed sanctions on Iran to cripple its economy and nuclear ambitions.
Trump’s immigration policies have been shaped by Project 2025, which aims to deport millions of undocumented immigrants living in the US.
Americans have mixed views on Trump’s immigration policies, with 61% disapproving of deporting some immigrants who are in the United States illegally to a prison in El Salvador.
Republicans largely approve of Trump’s immigration policies, while Democrats disapprove. About 56% of Americans favor expanding the border wall, up from 46% in 2019.
The Supreme Court’s decision will likely have significant implications for migrants facing deportation. The ruling allows the Trump administration to proceed with its immigration agenda, which includes deporting millions of undocumented immigrants.
The decision has sparked controversy, with critics arguing that it will lead to human rights abuses and put migrants at risk of torture or death.