Supreme Court Clears Deportation of Eight Immigrants to South Sudan
The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to deport eight immigrants held at a U.S.
base in Djibouti to South Sudan. In a brief, unsigned order,
the justices reaffirmed an earlier stay, giving the government permission to proceed.
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy had previously blocked the deportations,
ruling that immigrants couldn’t be sent to “third countries” without assurances they wouldn’t face torture.
The detainees—reportedly from Cuba, Vietnam, and Laos—have been held in Djibouti since the plane reroute.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that Murphy’s order interfered with immigration and national security operations.
The Court’s conservative majority agreed, saying the injunction no longer applied.
Justice Elena Kagan concurred, while Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented,
warning the decision could expose people to “torture or death.”
