Trump administration urges Supreme Court to permit third-country deportations

The Department of Homeland Security asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to lift a lower‑court injunction that has halted “third‑country removals,” a practice the Trump administration has used to deport migrants to nations where they have no family or ties. The request seeks permission to resume sending detainees to countries such as Albania, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where the United States has signed bilateral agreements allowing the transfers.

The injunction was issued in September after a federal judge in New York ruled that the policy violated due‑process rights because many of the migrants could not prove a realistic chance of safety in the destination countries. The ruling came as the administration intensified its immigration crackdown, expanding the use of expedited removal and limiting court access for asylum seekers. Officials say third‑country removals are a way to reduce the backlog of cases and deter illegal entry, while critics argue the moves sidestep legal protections and place vulnerable people at risk.

Immigrant‑rights groups and several members of Congress have condemned the request, calling it a “backdoor” to bypass asylum law. The American Civil Liberties Union filed an amicus brief warning that the practice could expose detainees to violence, inadequate medical care and lack of legal counsel. The Department of Justice, defending the policy, argues that the agreements include safety guarantees and that the Supreme Court’s intervention is needed to restore a tool it says Congress authorized in the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. The case could affect an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 individuals currently in detention awaiting removal.

If the Court grants the petition, DHS could restart deportations within weeks, reshaping the landscape of U.S. immigration enforcement. A denial would keep the status quo, leaving the backlog intact and preserving the legal challenges to the policy. The Supreme Court has not set a briefing schedule, but legal analysts expect arguments to be heard later this year, with a decision possibly coming before the start of the next fiscal year. The outcome will signal how far the administration can push its immigration agenda and whether the judiciary will continue to check executive actions in this arena.