Supreme Court Clears Trump to Resume Third-Country Deportations, Including South Sudan

The U.S. Supreme Court on 23 June 2025, by 6–3, stayed a Boston federal judge’s injunction that had forced the Trump administration to give migrants at least 10 days’ notice and a chance to object before being sent to “third countries” with which they have no connection. The ruling allows deportations to resume without the extra due-process protections while the underlying lawsuit proceeds.

On 3 July the Court, in a 7–2 order, confirmed that its June stay also covers eight men being held at a U.S. military facility in Djibouti after their planned removal to South Sudan was halted. The clarification frees Immigration and Customs Enforcement to complete the deportations as early as 4 July, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which said it has diplomatic assurances that the men will not be tortured.

The detainees—originally from Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Cuba, Mexico and South Sudan—were all convicted of violent or sexual offences in the United States. Homeland Security maintains that third-country removals are essential when home nations refuse to accept their nationals, while opponents argue the practice violates constitutional due-process rights and the U.N. Convention Against Torture by denying migrants a meaningful opportunity to raise fear-based claims.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from both Supreme Court actions, accusing the government of “flagrantly unlawful conduct” that could expose migrants to torture or death. Justice Elena Kagan dissented in June but sided with the majority in July, writing that a district court cannot enforce an order the high court has stayed.

The decisions leave intact, for now, the administration’s expanded authority to deport migrants to countries such as South Sudan, El Salvador and Libya while appellate review continues. The First Circuit is expected to hear arguments on the merits of the policy later this year.