US Supreme Court clears way for Trump administration’s third-country deportations

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for the Trump administration's third-country deportations, lifting restrictions that had been placed on the practice. The court agreed to hear the issue on its merits in December. The administration had requested an emergency suspension of a lower court ruling that had restricted, though not outright banned, so-called "third-country removals."

The lower court had ruled that people facing deportation must be given effective notice before being sent to a foreign country, allowing them to raise concerns about potential persecution. The conservative-dominated high court consisted of three liberal justices who said they would not have granted the administration's request. President Trump had campaigned on the promise of expelling millions of undocumented migrants from the United States and has been actively speeding up deportations since his return to the White House in 2025.

The administration defended third-country deportations, stating they were necessary since some home nations refused to accept deportees. Opponents argued that the lower court ruling did not fully block all third-country deportations; it merely required them to be carried out lawfully. The Trump administration's solicitor general, John Sauer, told the court that rapid deportations to third countries were an essential tool for removing certain aliens, including some of the worst criminal aliens.

The lower court ruling had created substantial logistical problems with removals, according to Sauer. An investigation by AFP found that the US has offered multimillion-dollar deals and threatened visa restrictions to secure the deportation of deportees to third countries, particularly in Africa. Once in these countries, deportees have faced abuse, indefinite detention, or quick re-deportation to their home countries.

The United States has deported over 25,000 people under secretive agreements with 35 countries, with US$410 million earmarked to pay for the returns. Most deportees were sent to Mexico, but the rest were scattered to 27 other countries across Latin America, Africa, and the Pacific. Congress had made it US policy not to deport individuals to countries where their lives would be in danger or they could be subjected to torture.

Following the court's ruling, some Democratic lawmakers called for more formalized steps to prevent such deportations and uphold due process.