U.S. Administration to Appeal Supreme Court Ruling on Migrant Deportations

The U.S. administration plans to ask the Supreme Court to permit the swift deportation of immigrants to third countries, a policy that a federal appeals court recently blocked. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the decision on Thursday, characterizing the practice as a legally sound and crucial tool for managing illegal immigration.

This move follows a ruling by a federal appeals court that upheld a lower court's decision. The appellate court found that migrants were not being given a sufficient opportunity to challenge deportations to third countries, nations different from their own.

"Without even allowing the government a chance to respond, and in the dark of night, a federal appeals court blocked us from conducting all third-country removals of illegal aliens, an entirely legal and invaluable tool to stem the tide of illegal immigration," Blanche stated on X, formerly Twitter. "We will immediately seek relief from the Supreme Court, which previously granted a stay in this very same case."

Attorneys representing individuals who have been deported to third countries reported that several deportation flights scheduled for Thursday were canceled. Last week, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that immigrants were not receiving adequate notice before being deported to nations with which they had no prior connections.

Circuit Court Judge Seth Aframe wrote, "An individual's right to contest removal to a country based on a fear of persecution in that country means little if one does not receive prior notice of the intended removal destination and a meaningful opportunity to contest that destination."

According to the immigrant rights organization Human Rights First, approximately 25,000 people were deported to such third countries during the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts.

The Department of Homeland Security's general counsel stated that third-party deportations serve as an essential public safety measure. This practice is employed when a migrant's country of origin refuses their return, when they cannot legally remain in the U.S. but cannot return to their home country, or when logistical challenges arise in returning them to their nation of origin.

Immigration lawyers and advocates note that while third-country removals are not a new phenomenon, they have become more frequent. In recent months, the administration has increased these deportations, establishing formal agreements with nearly three dozen countries to deport asylum seekers, refugees, and individuals with criminal records with minimal advance notice.

Previous reports have detailed instances of Latino immigrants being deported to the Central African Republic, a destination classified by the U.S. as high-risk due to ongoing armed conflict, violent crime, and the threat of terrorism. These individuals reported not being informed of their destination until several hours into their flights. One man described the experience as feeling "kidnapped," stating, "They have violated all the rights that exist in life, because we are human beings."