The Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to proceed with sending eight immigrants—currently held at a U.S. military base in Djibouti—back to South Sudan. The justices affirmed that their earlier order, which stayed a Massachusetts federal judge’s ruling limiting deportations to countries not listed in removal orders, applies fully to these detainees. That earlier ruling from Judge Brian Murphy required safeguards to ensure deportees would not face torture in third countries. Murphy said the government violated his order by attempting to deport the men to South Sudan, a country the U.S. warns against traveling to due to severe instability, crime, and armed conflict.
After the plane carrying the men was diverted to Djibouti, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to explicitly confirm that it could proceed with the removals. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that Murphy’s requirements were disrupting immigration enforcement and interfering with foreign policy. Lawyers for the immigrants countered that Murphy’s ruling merely required the government to follow the law regarding third-country deportations. Murphy maintained that his order was still in effect despite the Supreme Court’s initial stay.
The majority of the Court ruled that the stay fully blocked Murphy’s injunction. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, warning that the government sought to send the men into danger without proper protections, while Justice Elena Kagan agreed with the majority despite opposing the earlier decision.