Supreme Court Clears Way for Expanded Third‑Country Deportations

Washington (AFP) – The US Supreme Court on Tuesday lifted restrictions on deporting immigrants to countries other than their own, while agreeing to hear the case on its merits in December.

The conservative‑dominated court granted an emergency request from the Trump administration to stay a lower‑court order that had limited, but not eliminated, so‑called third‑country removals.

The lower court had required that individuals facing deportation receive timely notice of their destination so they could raise fears of persecution.

The three liberal justices indicated they would have denied the administration’s request.

President Donald Trump, who campaigned on removing millions of undocumented migrants, has pursued several measures to accelerate deportations since returning to the White House in 2025.

The administration argues that third‑country deportations are necessary when migrants’ home countries refuse to accept them.

In a filing with the Supreme Court, opponents of lifting the restrictions contended that the lower‑court decision did not abolish third‑country removals altogether; it merely required the government to carry them out lawfully.

Trump’s solicitor general, John Sauer, told the justices that swift removal to third countries is “an essential tool for deporting certain aliens, including some of the most serious criminal offenders.”

He added that the lower‑court ruling has created substantial logistical obstacles for removals.

‘Indefensible’

An AFP investigation revealed that the United States has offered multimillion‑dollar incentives and threatened visa restrictions to persuade third countries—particularly in Africa—to accept deportees.

Once transferred outside U.S. jurisdiction, these individuals have faced abuse by local guards, indefinite detention, or rapid re‑deportation to their native lands.

According to a recent investigation, more than 25,000 people have been deported under secretive agreements with 35 nations that have no ties to the migrants.

The same inquiry by Forbidden Stories found that the administration has set aside $410 million to pay the receiving countries directly or to channel funds through United Nations agencies to facilitate the returns.

Approximately 20,000 of those deportees were sent to Mexico; the remainder were distributed among 27 other countries across Latin America, Africa, and the Pacific, with additional agreements finalized with seven more states.

Congress has established U.S. policy prohibiting deportation to countries where individuals would risk persecution or torture.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision, several Democratic lawmakers urged the implementation of formal safeguards to prevent such removals and protect due process.

“Congress must act. No one should be sent to a foreign country without basic due process and a genuine chance to express legitimate safety concerns,” said House Democrat Lois Frankel on X.

Representative Rob Menendez, also a Democrat, denounced the ruling as “indefensible.”

“Taxpayers should not finance pulling people from the only home they have ever known, nor should the legal system expedite these unilateral deportations,” he added.

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