The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration may deport eight migrants held at a military base in Djibouti to war-torn South Sudan, marking a victory for the administration’s immigration crackdown.
The unsigned, two-page ruling was the court’s second intervention in the case. On June 23, the justices had blocked an April 18 preliminary injunction that barred the federal government from deporting noncitizens to third countries without allowing them to argue they could face torture or degrading treatment.
Later that same day, a district court sided with lawyers for the eight migrants—already deported to Djibouti—ordering the administration to retain custody of them. The Trump administration then asked the Supreme Court to clarify whether its June ruling applied to the men in Djibouti.
Thursday’s decision stated: “Our June 23 order stayed the April preliminary injunction in full.”
In a sharp dissent, liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, criticized the court’s refusal to explain its reasoning, calling it “indefensible.”
“What the government wants to do, concretely, is send the eight noncitizens it illegally removed from the United States from Djibouti to South Sudan, where they will be turned over to the local authorities without regard for the likelihood that they will face torture or death,” Sotomayor wrote.
“Today’s order clarifies only one thing: Other litigants must follow the rules, but the administration has the Supreme Court on speed dial.”
The migrants—natives of Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar and Vietnam, with only one from South Sudan—have all been convicted of serious crimes in the U.S., including murder.
The government flew them to Djibouti in May intending to send them to South Sudan, despite a State Department Level 4 “Do Not Travel” warning for the country due to crime, kidnapping and armed conflict.
The move triggered a frantic effort by their lawyers to keep the Trump administration from deporting them further.