Trump administration asks the Supreme Court to allow quick third-country deportations to continue

President Donald Trump's administration requested the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow quick deportations of immigrants to third countries without ties to the United States. The government sought an immediate end to lower court orders that require people to have the opportunity to object before being deported to countries other than their homeland.

The Supreme Court had previously permitted deportation flights to continue temporarily last year. An appeals court upheld a Boston judge's ruling that migrants should have a meaningful chance to argue that a third-country deportation could put them in danger of persecution or torture, prolonging the process. The government asserts that it has already canceled a flight with 70 individuals with criminal convictions to three countries.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote that the government has removed thousands of aliens to third countries in recent months, with thousands more eligible. The administration argues that they send people to third countries when they cannot quickly return them to their homelands, as those countries offer assurances that people won't be persecuted or tortured.

Lower court requirements could lead to delays and require renegotiating agreements with foreign countries. The Trump administration has deported thousands of people under agreements with nearly two dozen countries, including Equatorial Guinea and Panama. Two men deported to Equatorial Guinea recently claimed they were beaten and held at gunpoint in a hotel-turned-detention center by police who covered their heads with bags.

This case comes amid a broad immigration crackdown by the Trump administration, which has pledged to deport millions of people living in the United States illegally.