A US Supreme Court ruling allows deportations to third countries, including Libya and South Sudan
The US Supreme Court has authorized the White House to deport immigrants to third countries, including conflict-stricken South Sudan and Libya, regardless of where the individuals are originally from.
The Monday decision lifts an earlier order by a lower court that had blocked the emergency removals due to safety concerns. US President Donald Trump has revived a series of hardline immigration measures since returning to office in January, following campaign promises to reverse what he called the “open border” policies of his predecessor, Joe Biden.
In February, the US Department of Homeland Security moved to expand rapid deportations to third countries, prompting immigrant rights groups to file a class action lawsuit on behalf of migrants facing removal without notice or a chance to argue their case.
On April 18, US District Judge Brian Murphy ruled that deporting immigrants to nations other than their home countries without due process “unquestionably” violated constitutional protections. The injunction reportedly forced US authorities to detain eight migrants – who had been flown out for deportation – at a military base in Djibouti.
On Monday, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, one of three Supreme Court justices who dissented from the majority decision, accused Washington of violating the lower court’s preliminary injunction.
“The government removed six class members to South Sudan with less than 16 hours’ notice and no opportunity to be heard,” she stated.
Justice Sotomayor said her Supreme Court colleagues should have left the lower courts to handle the “high-stakes litigation with the care” it required, instead of granting “the government emergency relief from an order it has repeatedly defied.”
The US State Department has placed both Libya and South Sudan under its highest-level travel advisory, warning Americans not to visit due to armed conflict, crime, and political unrest. The US shut down its embassy in Libya in 2014, after earlier suspending operations amid unrest following the NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed the North African country’s longtime leader, Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011. In March, the US Embassy in South Sudan withdrew non-emergency personnel, citing deteriorating security conditions.
