The Supreme Court has issued an order permitting the Trump administration to resume expedited deportations of specific immigrants to third countries. The government, as a result, can now conduct mass deportations in the dead of night. This creates egregious humanitarian issues, demonstrated most clearly by the safety of those impacted.
The ruling comes as Worthington’s legal challenges continue. It will remain in effect during the time that the court is considering the Trump administration’s appeal. The decision has drawn criticism, particularly regarding the lack of opportunity for immigrants to contest deportations that may result in severe consequences, such as torture or death in their destination countries.
The president’s administration earlier this month deported to six immigrants to South Sudan. This move directly violates a federal court order barring such transfers. So dangerous has the situation become that the U.S. State Department has declared South Sudan unsafe for all staff other than emergency personnel. This designation further complicates the impact of these deportations.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents are actively involved in detaining immigrants. Many of these people have a criminal record. Opponents contend that the swift deportations, delivered without adequate due-process protections or any on-the-ground monitoring, contravene inalienable human rights.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, one of the three dissenting justices, expressed her dismay with the court’s action. She might have hedged on other issues, but not on this— “In decisions about life and death, discretion is the better part of valor.” In her dissenting opinion, Sotomayor pointed out that the government had reversed course in a major way in this case. It illegally deported one man back to Guatemala, where he was almost certainly going to be tortured, according to an Immigration Judge’s ruling.
“Rather than allowing our lower court colleagues to manage this high-stakes litigation with the care and attention it plainly requires, this Court now intervenes to grant the Government emergency relief from an order it has repeatedly defied.” – Sonia Sotomayor
The Supreme Court’s ruling is a perfect encapsulation of the policy on immigration that the Trump administration has undertaken. You can be sure that throughout this appeal, advocates for immigrant rights will vigorously oppose such practices. As noted by [12] civil rights advocates, the moves further erode due process and endanger marginalized communities.