US Supreme Court clears way for deportation to South Sudan of several immigrants with no ties there

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for the deportation of several immigrants who were put on a flight in May bound for South Sudan, a war-ravaged country where they have no ties.

The decision comes after the court’s conservative majority found that immigration officials can quickly deport people to third countries.

The majority halted an order that had allowed immigrants to challenge any removals to countries outside their homeland where they could be in danger.

The court’s latest decision makes clear that the South Sudan flight can complete the trip, weeks after it was detoured to a naval base in Djibouti where the migrants who had previously been convicted of serious crimes were held in a converted shipping container.

It reverses findings from federal Judge Brian Murphy in Massachusetts, who said his order on those migrants still stands even after the high court lifted his broader decision.

Headlines Delivered to Your Inbox

Sign up for The Gleaner’s morning and evening newsletters.

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the flight would be completed quickly and they could be in South Sudan by Friday.

The Supreme Court majority wrote that their decision on June 23 completely halted Murphy’s ruling and also rendered his decision on the South Sudan flight “unenforceable.” The court did not fully detail its legal reasoning on the underlying case, as is common on its emergency docket.

Two liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented, saying the ruling gives the government special treatment. “Other litigants must follow the rules, but the administration has the Supreme Court on speed dial,” Sotomayor wrote. Justice Elena Kagan wrote that while she disagreed with the original order, it does countermand Murphy’s findings on the South Sudan flight.

Attorneys for the eight migrants have said they could face “imprisonment, torture and even death” if sent to South Sudan, where escalating political tensions have threatened to devolve into another civil war.

“We know they’ll face perilous conditions, and potentially immediate detention, upon arrival,” Trina Realmuto, executive director of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, said Thursday.