Trump administration urges Supreme Court to revive third-country deportation policy

On Thursday, the Trump administration requested the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court's decision that halted the deportation of some migrants to countries other than their own. The Justice Department argued that a February 2026 federal judge's order, which requires more due process for deportees, violates their rights. The appellate court had recently upheld the judge's ruling.

By pausing the order, the administration aims to maintain a policy that allows deportees to be sent to third countries with assurances of no persecution or torture. The Department of Homeland Security had to cancel flights for 70 deportees, including those with criminal records, after the adverse rulings. Solicitor General D. John Sauer estimated that thousands more deportees could be sent to third countries.

The administration claimed that the decision hampers the efficient removal of individuals, some of whom are considered the worst of the worst criminal aliens, whose home countries refuse to accept them. The lower court's decision was seen as undermining the U.S.'s standing abroad. The administration has been engaging in a far-reaching crackdown on illegal immigration by negotiating agreements with various countries, mainly in Africa and Latin America, to accept deportees who are not their citizens.

These countries include those with repressive governments, armed conflict, human rights abuses, and widespread poverty. Despite some apprehensions, deportees have included those with violent criminal histories and even migrants without any known criminal records, aside from immigration violations in the U.S.