US Supreme Court again allows deportations of migrants to third countries

The US Supreme Court for the second time lifted judicial restrictions that had prevented President Donald Trump's administration from expediting the deportation of some migrants to countries of which they are not citizens and with which they may not have had any prior ties.

As reported by NBC News, the decision allows the administration to continue so-called third-country deportations while further court proceedings take place. It is not a final Supreme Court ruling on the legality of the entire program.

The dispute arose over rules that the US Department of Homeland Security uses when a person cannot be promptly sent to their country of citizenship. In such cases, US authorities may arrange for their admission by another state.

In February, federal judge Brian Murphy ruled the existing mechanism unlawful. The court held that before being sent to a third country, a migrant must be given meaningful notice and a real opportunity to assert that they would face persecution or torture there.

On September 18, the First Circuit Court of Appeals largely upheld that decision. After the ruling took effect, US authorities were forced to cancel at least one planned flight with about 70 deportees. The administration then sought emergency relief from the Supreme Court.

In Supreme Court documents, the case is captioned Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D.. The government argued that the lower courts' restrictions create logistical and diplomatic problems and hinder the removal of people who cannot be returned to their own countries.

Attorneys for the migrants, on the other hand, insist that a person must have the opportunity to challenge being sent to a particular country if there is a risk of torture or persecution. Thus, the main legal dispute concerns not the existence of deportations to third countries itself, but the scope of procedural safeguards before such removal.

According to Reuters, citing calculations by human rights organizations, since the policy was introduced, more than 25,000 migrants have been sent from the US to at least 29 third countries. Most were sent to Mexico.

The administration has also reached relevant agreements with a number of other countries, including African nations. US authorities say that receiving countries provide diplomatic assurances that deportees will not be subjected to persecution or torture.

The Supreme Court already intervened in this case in 2025 and at that time also allowed the administration to temporarily continue deportations while the dispute was being considered in lower courts.