The US Supreme Court has allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to resume deporting migrants to countries other than their own, even when they have not been given a meaningful chance to explain the dangers they may face there.
The decision, issued on Tuesday, temporarily blocks a ruling by US District Judge Brian Murphy, who found the administration’s so-called third-country deportation policy unlawful. The Supreme Court will hear full arguments in the case in December and is expected to issue a final ruling later, according to Reuters.
The court’s six conservative justices supported the move, while its three liberal members dissented. The order did not explain the majority’s reasoning.
Under the policy, migrants who cannot be returned to the countries named in their deportation orders may be sent to other nations. Those countries include South Sudan, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia and the Central African Republic.
Human rights groups say more than 25,000 migrants have been deported to 29 countries under the policy, introduced last year. Most were sent to Mexico. Rights advocates warn that some of the countries involved are unstable and unsafe.
The US State Department advises Americans against travelling to South Sudan because of the risks of armed conflict, kidnapping and violent crime.
The case was brought by immigrant rights groups representing migrants who fear persecution, torture or other abuse in the countries where they could be sent. They argue that deportees should receive notice and a fair opportunity to raise those concerns before being put on a plane.
Trina Realmuto, a lawyer representing the migrants, said the ruling could allow people to be sent to dangerous countries “before they ever have notice or an opportunity to raise a fear claim”.
The administration, however, described third-country deportations as an important tool for removing migrants, including people convicted of serious crimes. Homeland Security General Counsel James Percival welcomed the ruling, calling it “a bad day for criminal illegals and open-borders activists”.
In February, Murphy ruled that the policy violated immigration procedures and the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of due process. The 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld most of his ruling on September 18.
The Supreme Court’s decision does not settle whether the policy is lawful. For now, it allows the deportations to continue while the legal battle moves to the nation’s highest court.
