The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to allow it to continue rapidly deporting immigrants to third countries, even when those countries are not their homelands.
The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to allow it to continue rapidly deporting immigrants to third countries, even when those countries are not their homelands.
The administration is seeking an immediate pause on lower court rulings that require migrants to have an opportunity to challenge deportation to a country other than their homeland before they are removed from the United States.
The Supreme Court previously allowed the flights to continue temporarily when the case came before the justices last year. Since then, however, a federal appeals court upheld a Boston judge’s final ruling that migrants must have a meaningful opportunity to argue that deportation to a third country could expose them to persecution or torture.
The ruling does not bar third-country deportations, but the Trump administration argues it slows the process and has already resulted in the cancellation of a flight carrying 70 people with criminal convictions to three countries.
The government has been able to remove thousands of aliens to third countries in recent months, and thousands more are eligible for such removal,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in the administration’s filing.
The administration has said it uses third-country deportations when immigrants cannot be quickly returned to their countries of origin. Government attorneys said destination countries provide assurances that deportees will not be persecuted or tortured.
But administration lawyers argued the lower court requirements could create broader delays and force the government to renegotiate arrangements with foreign governments.
The Trump administration has deported thousands of people through agreements with nearly two dozen countries, including South Sudan, Equatorial Guinea and Panama.
Earlier this month, attorneys for two men deported to Equatorial Guinea alleged the men were beaten and held at gunpoint by police at a hotel being used as a detention center. The allegations have not been independently verified.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
