Administration asks Supreme Court to allow swift deportations to 3rd countries
The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to immediately freeze a lower court order that blocks the federal government from swiftly deporting immigrants to third countries that are different from their country of origin.
The move follows a federal appeals court ruling on Wednesday that cleared the way for a lower court decision blocking the rapid removal of migrants to third countries without a "meaningful opportunity" to contest their deportations.
"The unexpected springing-back of district court's order has, this Office is informed, created substantial logistical problems with ongoing removal operations -- including the cancellation of flights -- and led to added expense, potential diplomatic issues, and the inability to remove dangerous criminals," Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in a filing Thursday.
Sauer said that the Department of Homeland Security was forced to cancel a flight to three separate countries carrying 70 people "with criminal convictions" and "that the cancellation has required a new round of diplomatic engagement with each of the three countries."
ABC News previously interviewed a group of Latin American men who were deported to the Central African Republic, which the U.S. has classified as an extreme-risk destination for Americans due to armed conflict, violent crime and the threat of terrorism. The men said they were not informed of their destination until several hours into the flight.
In his court filing, Sauer argued that there is a "lack of any realistic risk that [the immigrants] will be persecuted or tortured" in third countries because "the Executive Branch has determined those countries are acceptable places of removal."
According to immigration lawyers and advocates, third-country removals are not new, but they are rare. In recent months, the Trump administration has ramped up third-country deportations after creating a web of formal deals with nearly three dozen countries to deport asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants with criminal records with little to no warning.
Last week, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that immigrants were not receiving adequate notice before being deported to nations where they have no connections.
"An individual's right to contest removal to a country based on a fear of persecution in that country means little if one does not receive prior notice of the intended removal destination and a meaningful opportunity to contest that destination," wrote Circuit Court Judge Seth Aframe.
"Without even allowing the government a chance to respond, and in the dark of night, a federal appeals court blocked us from conducting all third-country removals of illegal aliens, an entirely legal and invaluable tool to stem the tide of illegal immigration," Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote Thursday in a social media post announcing that the U.S. would take the case to the Supreme Court.
About 25,000 people have been deported to so-called third countries during the Trump administration's ongoing immigration crackdown, according to the immigrant rights organization Human Rights First.
The Department of Homeland Security's general counsel said on X Wednesday that third-party deportations are an "essential public safety tool" that's utilized in cases where a migrant's country of origin won't accept them; when they cannot remain in the U.S. but also can't go back to their home country; and when there are "logistical problems" associated with removing them to their country of origin.
