Latest news with #USSUPREMECourt
The Journal
12 hours ago
- Politics
- The Journal
US Supreme Court allows third country deportations to resume
A US SUPREME Court has paved the way for the Trump administration to resume deportations of undocumented migrants to countries that are not their own. The unsigned order from the conservative-dominated court came in response to an emergency appeal by the US Justice Department to lift a stay imposed by a lower court on so-called third country deportations. The original case challenging the third country deportations will now be heard by an appeals court but the Supreme Court's move allows the removals to proceed for now. The Supreme Court did not provide an explanation for the decision and the three liberal justices dissented. District Judge Brian Murphy had ordered a halt to third country deportations in April, saying migrants were not being given a 'meaningful opportunity' to contest their expulsions. Murphy said they should get at least 15 days to challenge their deportation and provide evidence of whether they may be at risk of torture or death if expelled. The original case involves the deportation of eight men — two from Myanmar, two from Cuba, a Vietnamese man, a Laotian, a Mexican and one from South Sudan — who the US authorities said were convicted violent criminals. They were being flown to impoverished war-torn South Sudan when Murphy's order came down and have been held since at a US military base in Djibouti. The Trump administration has defended the third country deportations as necessary since the home nations of some of those who are targeted for removal often refuse to accept them. Advertisement Justice Sonia Sotomayor, author of the dissent, accused the administration of 'flagrantly unlawful conduct' that is 'exposing thousands to the risk of torture or death.' 'The government has made clear in word and deed that it feels itself unconstrained by law, free to deport anyone anywhere without notice or an opportunity to be heard,' Sotomayor said. 'Fire up the deportation planes' The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) welcomed the Supreme Court move as a 'victory for the safety and security of the American people.' 'If these activists judges had their way, aliens who are so uniquely barbaric that their own countries won't take them back, including convicted murderers, child rapists and drug traffickers, would walk free on American streets,' DHS said in a post on X. 'DHS can now execute its lawful authority and remove illegal aliens to a country willing to accept them,' it said. 'Fire up the deportation planes.' The Supreme Court ruling is a victory for the safety and security of the American people. The Biden Administration allowed millions of illegal aliens to flood our country, and, now, the Trump Administration can exercise its undisputed authority to remove these criminal illegal… — Homeland Security (@DHSgov) June 23, 2025 Donald Trump campaigned for president promising to expel millions of undocumented migrants from the US, and he has taken a number of actions aimed at speeding up deportations since returning to the White House in January. But his mass deportation efforts have been thwarted or stalled by numerous courts, including the Supreme Court, over concerns that migrant rights to due process are being ignored. Murphy, an appointee of Trump's Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, also temporarily blocked the government from expelling Asian migrants to Libya. With reporting by – © AFP2025 Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Journal
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
US Supreme Court blocks Trump's use of 18th century law to deport people
LAST UPDATE | 21 mins ago THE US SUPREME Court has rejected the Trump administration's appeal to quickly resume deportations of Venezuelans under an 18th century wartime law. The justices heard an emergency appeal from lawyers for Venezuelan men accused of being gang members, a designation that the administration says makes them eligible for rapid removal from the United States under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) of 1798. The court had already called a temporary halt to the deportations from a north Texas detention facility in a middle-of-the-night order issued last month. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, two of the most conservative members of the court, dissented. Responding with a post on his Truth Social platform, President Donald Trump said: 'THE SUPREME COURT WON'T ALLOW US TO GET CRIMINALS OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!' The case is among several making their way through the courts over Trump's proclamation in March calling the Tren de Aragua gang a foreign terrorist organisation and invoking the 1798 law to deport people. Advertisement The case centres on the opportunity people must have to contest their removal from the United States, without determining whether Trump's invocation of the law was appropriate. 'We recognise the significance of the Government's national security interests as well as the necessity that such interests be pursued in a manner consistent with the Constitution,' the justices said in an unsigned opinion. At least three federal judges have said Trump was improperly using the AEA to speed up deportations of people the administration says are Venezuelan gang members. On Tuesday, a judge in Pennsylvania signed off on the use of the law. The court-by-court approach to deportations under the AEA flows from another Supreme Court order that took a case away from a judge in Washington DC, and ruled detainees seeking to challenge their deportations must do so where they are held. The justices said in April that people must be given 'reasonable time' to file a challenge. The court has rejected the 12 hours the administration has said would be sufficient but has not otherwise spelled out how long it meant. District Judge Stephanie Haines ordered immigration officials to give people 21 days in her opinion in which she said deportations could legally take place under the AEA. The Supreme Court also made clear today that it was not blocking other ways the government may deport people.
