The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration may resume deporting migrants to countries other than their own while the justices consider whether the policy is lawful.
In a brief, unsigned 6-3 order, the court suspended a ruling by U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy that had blocked the Department of Homeland Security’s third-country deportation policy. The justices offered no explanation for the decision but agreed to hear full arguments in December.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche celebrated the ruling in a post on X, describing it as confirmation of the administration’s legal stance.
“Now for the second time, SCOTUS just granted our stay in conducting all third-country removals of illegal aliens,” Blanche wrote. “Again, this is entirely lawful and a critical tool for immigration enforcement. Unlike the lower court, SCOTUS waited to hear from both sides before making the decision.”
The policy allows U.S. officials to deport migrants to so-called “third countries”—nations that did not appear on their original removal orders. The administration has turned to the approach because many migrants’ home countries refuse to accept them. Under the policy, officials consider assurances to Secretary of State Marco Rubio that deportees will not face persecution or torture sufficient to permit the transfer.
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Solicitor General John Sauer told the justices that third-country removals are an important tool for deporting some of the most serious criminal offenders. He also said the lower court’s order forced DHS to cancel a flight carrying 70 deportees to three countries. Rubio’s State Department has reached agreements with as many as 31 nations, primarily in Africa and Latin America, with at least $410 million pledged through the end of June.
The legal challenge began earlier this year. In February, Murphy, a Biden-appointed judge, ruled that the policy violated the Fifth Amendment’s due process protections because migrants received neither adequate notice nor a meaningful opportunity to express fears of torture. The First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld most of that ruling on Sept. 18. Tuesday’s action marked the administration’s second Supreme Court stay in the case.
The court’s three liberal justices—Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson—dissented. Trina Realmuto, an attorney representing the migrants, said the decision leaves people vulnerable to immediate deportation to countries where they could face persecution before they have a chance to present their claims.
Also Tuesday, Burundi announced that it would accept deportees from the United States who have no ties to the East African nation. A spokesperson for the country’s president said the arrangement would apply only to people who are not facing prosecution and have no connections to terrorism.
Human rights groups estimate that more than 25,000 migrants have been deported to 29 countries under the policy, with most sent to Mexico. The Supreme Court is not expected to issue a final ruling until the summer of 2027.