Supreme Court clears way for deportation to South Sudan of immigrants with no ties there
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.
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.
The push comes amid a sweeping immigration crackdown by Trump's Republican administration, which has pledged to deport millions of people who are living in the United States illegally. The Trump administration has called Murphy's finding 'a lawless act of defiance.'
McLaughlin called Thursday's decision 'a win for the rule of law, safety and security of the American people.'
Authorities have reached agreements with other countries to house immigrants if authorities can't quickly send them back to their homelands. The eight men sent to South Sudan in May had been convicted of crimes in the U.S. and had final orders of removal, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have said.
Murphy, who was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, didn't prohibit deportations to third countries. But he found migrants must have a real chance to argue they could be in danger of torture if sent to another country, even if they've already exhausted their legal appeals.
The men and their guards have faced rough conditions on the naval base in Djibouti where authorities detoured the flight after Murphy found the administration had violated his order by failing allow them a chance to challenge the removal. They have since expressed a fear of being sent to South Sudan, Realmuto said.
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Boston Globe
43 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Pope Leo XIV resumes the tradition of taking a summer vacation. But he's got plenty of homework
People who know and work with Leo expect he will use these weeks away from the public eye and the daily grind of Vatican audiences to get his head around the most pressing problems facing the church. He's a methodical, hard-working and well-prepared manager, they say, who wants to read entire reports, not just the executive summaries, before making decisions. Here is a look at Leo's summer homework, the outstanding dossiers he may be studying from now until Aug. 17 in between dips in the pool, walks in the gardens and occasional Masses, prayers and visits in town. Advertisement Big nominations After his election, Leo reappointed all Vatican prefects until further notice, so the Holy See machinery is still working with the old guard in place. But a few major appointments await, most importantly to fill his old job as prefect of the office that vets bishop nominations. Advertisement Leo also has to decide who will be his No. 2, the Vatican secretary of state. That job, the equivalent of a prime minister, is still held by Francis' pick, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who was himself an unsuccessful contender in the conclave that elected Leo pope. Even before he gets his people in place, Leo has to get a handle on one of the most pressing problems facing the Holy See: Its troubled finances. The Vatican is running a structural deficit of around 50 million to 60 million euros ($59-71 million) and has a 1 billion euro ($1.18 billion) shortfall in its pension fund. The Rupnik problem There are plenty of high-profile clergy sex cases that festered during Francis' pontificate that are now are on Leo's desk. History's first American pope will be watched closely to see how he handles them, since he cannot claim ignorance about abuse or its dynamics, given the devastation the scandals have wrought in the United States. Leo has already said it's 'urgent' to create a culture of prevention in the church that shows no tolerance for any form of abuse, be it abuse of authority or spiritual or sexual abuse. On that score, there is no case more pressing than that of the Rev. Marko Rupnik, a famous mosaic artist who was belatedly thrown out of the Jesuits after its superiors determined he sexually, psychologically and spiritually abused two dozen adult women and nuns. Even though the case didn't involve minors, it became a toxic problem for Francis because of suggestions Rupnik received favorable treatment at the Vatican under the Jesuit pope. Nearly two years after Francis caved into pressure to reopen the Rupnik file, the Vatican has finally found external canon lawyers to hear the case, the head of the Vatican's doctrine office, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, told reporters last week. As recently as March, Fernandez had said he was having trouble finding any willing candidates. Now that Francis is dead, the case may be less politically delicate, even as the priest's supporters maintain his innocence. Advertisement The Becciu case Another legal headache facing Leo is what to do about Cardinal Angelo Becciu and the Vatican's 'trial of the century,' which is heading into the appeals phase in September. The city-state's criminal tribunal in 2023 convicted Becciu and eight other people of a variety of financial crimes stemming from the Holy See's bungled 350 million euro ($412 million) investment in a London property. But the trial was itself problematic, with defense claims that basic defense rights weren't respected since Francis intervened on several occasions in favor of prosecutors. In the months since the verdicts were handed down, there have been new revelations that Vatican gendarmes and prosecutors were apparently in regular touch with a woman who was coaching the star witness into testifying against Becciu. The once-powerful cardinal has denounced the contacts as evidence that his conviction was orchestrated from the start, from the top. Leo, a canon lawyer, may want to steer clear of the whole thing to try to give the tribunal the impression of being independent. But Leo will ultimately have to decide what to do with Becciu, who recused himself from the conclave but remains a cardinal with a very unclear status. The Latin Mass issue Leo has said his priority as pope is unity and reconciliation in the church. Many conservatives and traditionalists hope that means he will work to heal the liturgical divisions that spread during Francis' 12-year papacy, especially in the U.S., over the old Latin Mass. Advertisement Francis in 2021 restricted access for ordinary Catholics to the ancient liturgy, arguing that its spread was creating divisions in the church. In doing so, Francis reversed his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who in 2007 had relaxed restrictions on its celebration. Cardinal Raymond Burke, a figurehead of the conservative and traditionalist camp, told a recent conference on the Latin Mass that he had spoken to Leo about the need to 'put an end to the present persecution of the faithful' who want to worship according to the old rite. 'It it is my hope that he will as soon as it is possible take up the study of this question and try to restore the situation as it was' under Benedict's reform, Burke said. AI and travel priorities Leo has also identified artificial intelligence as a pressing issue facing humanity, suggesting a document of some sort might be in the works. Also under study is when he will start traveling, and where. Leo has a standing invitation to undertake Francis' last, unfulfilled foreign commitment: Marking the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, Christianity's first ecumenical council, with a visit to Turkey. Leo has already said a visit is in the works, possibly in late November. Beyond that, Leo has received plenty of invitations: Vice President JD Vance extended a Trump invitation to visit the U.S., but Leo demurred and offered a noncommittal 'at some point.' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited him to visit Kyiv, but the Vatican under Francis had refused a papal visit there unless one could also be arranged to Moscow. Advertisement Leo's old diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, meanwhile, is waiting for their bishop to come home, and then there's Argentina, which never got a papal visit from the first-ever Argentine pope. A town awaits The residents of Castel Gandolfo, meanwhile, are aching for a pope to return. Francis had decided not to use the retreat and instead spent his 12 papal summers at home, in the Vatican. The town has recovered from the economic hit of pope-free summers, after Francis instead opened the papal palace and gardens to the public as a museum year-round. But townsfolks cannot wait for Leo to take up residence and enjoy the town's gorgeous lake views and quiet starry nights. It's the perfect place for a pope to rest, read, write and think in private, they say. 'Remember, many encyclicals were written here,' noted the Rev. Tadeusz Rozmus, the town's parish priest.
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Pope Leo XIV resumes the tradition of taking a summer vacation. But he's got plenty of homework
VATICAN CITY (AP) — In his very first sermon as pontiff, Pope Leo XIV told the cardinals who elected him that anyone who exercises authority in the Catholic Church must 'make oneself small,' so that only Christ remains. In word and deed since, Leo has seemed intent on almost disappearing into the role. The shy Augustinian missionary has eschewed the headline-grabbing protagonism of past pontiffs in favor a less showy and more reserved way of being pope. Leo will disappear further this weekend when he begins a six-week vacation in his first break since his historic election May 8. Leo is resuming the papal tradition of escaping the Roman heat for the relatively cooler climes of Castel Gandolfo , the papal summer retreat on Lake Alban, south of Rome. People who know and work with Leo expect he will use these weeks away from the public eye and the daily grind of Vatican audiences to get his head around the most pressing problems facing the church. He's a methodical, hard-working and well-prepared manager, they say, who wants to read entire reports, not just the executive summaries, before making decisions. Here is a look at Leo's summer homework, the outstanding dossiers he may be studying from now until Aug. 17 in between dips in the pool, walks in the gardens and occasional Masses, prayers and visits in town. Big nominations After his election, Leo reappointed all Vatican prefects until further notice, so the Holy See machinery is still working with the old guard in place. But a few major appointments await, most importantly to fill his old job as prefect of the office that vets bishop nominations. Leo also has to decide who will be his No. 2, the Vatican secretary of state. That job, the equivalent of a prime minister, is still held by Francis' pick, Cardinal Pietro Parolin , who was himself an unsuccessful contender in the conclave that elected Leo pope. Even before he gets his people in place, Leo has to get a handle on one of the most pressing problems facing the Holy See: Its troubled finances . The Vatican is running a structural deficit of around 50 million to 60 million euros ($59-71 million) and has a 1 billion euro ($1.18 billion) shortfall in its pension fund. The Rupnik problem There are plenty of high-profile clergy sex cases that festered during Francis' pontificate that are now are on Leo's desk. History's first American pope will be watched closely to see how he handles them, since he cannot claim ignorance about abuse or its dynamics, given the devastation the scandals have wrought in the United States. Leo has already said it's 'urgent' to create a culture of prevention in the church that shows no tolerance for any form of abuse, be it abuse of authority or spiritual or sexual abuse. On that score, there is no case more pressing than that of the Rev. Marko Rupnik, a famous mosaic artist who was belatedly thrown out of the Jesuits after its superiors determined he sexually, psychologically and spiritually abused two dozen adult women and nuns. Even though the case didn't involve minors, it became a toxic problem for Francis because of suggestions Rupnik received favorable treatment at the Vatican under the Jesuit pope. Nearly two years after Francis caved into pressure to reopen the Rupnik file , the Vatican has finally found external canon lawyers to hear the case, the head of the Vatican's doctrine office, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, told reporters last week. As recently as March, Fernandez had said he was having trouble finding any willing candidates. Now that Francis is dead, the case may be less politically delicate, even as the priest's supporters maintain his innocence. The Becciu case Another legal headache facing Leo is what to do about Cardinal Angelo Becciu and the Vatican's 'trial of the century,' which is heading into the appeals phase in September. The city-state's criminal tribunal in 2023 convicted Becciu and eight other people of a variety of financial crimes stemming from the Holy See's bungled 350 million euro ($412 million) investment in a London property. But the trial was itself problematic, with defense claims that basic defense rights weren't respected since Francis intervened on several occasions in favor of prosecutors. In the months since the verdicts were handed down, there have been new revelations that Vatican gendarmes and prosecutors were apparently in regular touch with a woman who was coaching the star witness into testifying against Becciu. The once-powerful cardinal has denounced the contacts as evidence that his conviction was orchestrated from the start, from the top. Leo, a canon lawyer, may want to steer clear of the whole thing to try to give the tribunal the impression of being independent. But Leo will ultimately have to decide what to do with Becciu, who recused himself from the conclave but remains a cardinal with a very unclear status. The Latin Mass issue Leo has said his priority as pope is unity and reconciliation in the church. Many conservatives and traditionalists hope that means he will work to heal the liturgical divisions that spread during Francis' 12-year papacy, especially in the U.S., over the old Latin Mass. Francis in 2021 restricted access for ordinary Catholics to the ancient liturgy, arguing that its spread was creating divisions in the church. In doing so, Francis reversed his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who in 2007 had relaxed restrictions on its celebration. Cardinal Raymond Burke, a figurehead of the conservative and traditionalist camp , told a recent conference on the Latin Mass that he had spoken to Leo about the need to 'put an end to the present persecution of the faithful' who want to worship according to the old rite. 'It it is my hope that he will as soon as it is possible take up the study of this question and try to restore the situation as it was' under Benedict's reform, Burke said. AI and travel priorities Leo has also identified artificial intelligence as a pressing issue facing humanity , suggesting a document of some sort might be in the works. Also under study is when he will start traveling, and where. Leo has a standing invitation to undertake Francis' last, unfulfilled foreign commitment: Marking the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea , Christianity's first ecumenical council, with a visit to Turkey. Leo has already said a visit is in the works, possibly in late November. Beyond that, Leo has received plenty of invitations: Vice President JD Vance extended a Trump invitation to visit the U.S., but Leo demurred and offered a noncommittal 'at some point.' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited him to visit Kyiv, but the Vatican under Francis had refused a papal visit there unless one could also be arranged to Moscow. Leo's old diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, meanwhile, is waiting for their bishop to come home , and then there's Argentina, which never got a papal visit from the first-ever Argentine pope. A town awaits The residents of Castel Gandolfo, meanwhile, are aching for a pope to return. Francis had decided not to use the retreat and instead spent his 12 papal summers at home, in the Vatican. The town has recovered from the economic hit of pope-free summers, after Francis instead opened the papal palace and gardens to the public as a museum year-round. But townsfolks cannot wait for Leo to take up residence and enjoy the town's gorgeous lake views and quiet starry nights. It's the perfect place for a pope to rest, read, write and think in private, they say. 'Remember, many encyclicals were written here,' noted the Rev. Tadeusz Rozmus, the town's parish priest. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
How Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is standing out from her liberal colleagues
From the Supreme Court's mahogany bench, the newest justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, has sparred with Amy Coney Barrett and other voices of the right. Moneyed interests and power are among her targets. WASHINGTON − After Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett announced from the court's mahogany bench last month that lower court judges had gone too far in pausing President Donald Trump's changes to birthright citizenship, the court's liberals got their turn. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the most senior of the three justices appointed by Democratic presidents, read parts of the trio's joint dissent for about twice as long as Barrett had described the conservative majority's opinion. She even added a line that doesn't appear in the written version. 'The other shoe has dropped on presidential immunity,' Sotomayor said, referencing the court's landmark 2024 decision limiting when presidents can be prosecuted for actions they take in office. But it was a separate written dissent from Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson that reverberated the most, in large part because of Barrett's scathing reaction to it. 'We will not dwell on Justice Jackson's argument, which is at odds with more than two centuries' worth of precedent, not to mention the Constitution itself,' Barrett wrote. More: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson can throw a punch. Literally. Jackson's words repeatedly drew attention It wasn't the first time in recent months that Jackson's words drew attention. In a case about air pollution rules, Jackson said the case "gives fodder to the unfortunate perception that moneyed interests enjoy an easier road to relief in this Court than ordinary citizens.' When her conservative colleagues gave Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency complete access to the data of millions of Americans kept by the U.S. Social Security Administration, Jackson said the court was sending a 'troubling message" that it's departing from basic legal standards for the Trump administration. Speaking at a judge's conference in May, Jackson condemned the attacks Trump and his allies were making on judges who ruled against his policies. Her warning that the 'threats and harassment' could undermine the Constitution and the rule of law was stronger than concerns expressed by Sotomayor and by Chief Justice John Roberts. And during the eight months that the justices heard cases, Jackson – the court's newest member in an institution that reveres seniority – once again spoke by far the most. 'I definitely do think Justice Jackson really prioritizes developing her own jurisprudence and thoughts and voice,' said Brian Burgess, a partner at the law firm Goodwin who clerked for Sotomayor. 'I can see Justice Jackson evolving into someone that wants to speak directly to the public to express the concerns of that side of the court.' A clock, a mural, a petition: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's chambers tell her story Jackson spoke up early and often Nominated by President Joe Biden in 2022 to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer, Jackson wasted no time being heard. During her first two weeks on the court, she spoke more than twice as many words as any of her colleagues. When asked about her volubility, Jackson has said she became used to operating solo on the bench during her eight years as a federal trial court judge. She hasn't shown many signs of adjusting. Since October, Jackson spoke 50% more words on the bench than Sotomayor who was the next talkative, according to statistics compiled by Adam Feldman and Jake S. Truscott for the Empirical SCOTUS blog. 'She's the only one that has ever done what she's doing in terms of total volume of speech in her first few terms,' said Feldman, a lawyer and political scientist. `She wanted me my voice.' Jackson has been working on her communications skills since elementary school when her mother enrolled her in a public speaking program. 'She wanted me to get out there and use my voice,' Jackson said during an appearance at the Kennedy Center last year to talk about her memoir. And it's not just her voice. Jackson wrote more – either opinions, concurrences or dissents – this term than anyone except Justice Clarence Thomas, according to Empirical SCOTUS blog. Steve Vladeck, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, said he is going to add her dissent in the air pollution case to his course on federal courts. 'She is calling things as she sees them,' Vladeck said on the liberal Strict Scrutiny podcast. Jackson went further than her liberal colleagues Jackson went further in that case, and in some others, than her liberal colleagues. Sotomayor wrote her own dissent of the majority's ruling that fuel producers can challenge California emissions standards under a federal air pollution law. And Kagan was in the 7-2 majority. In fact, Kagan was in the majority more often this term than all but Roberts, Barrett and Justice Brett Kavanaugh – the three conservatives who often control the direction of the court. Jackson was in the majority the least often. 'You see Justice Kagan really shifting away from Justices Sotomayor and Jackson,' legal analyst Sarah Isgur said on the podcast Advisory Opinion where she dissects the court with fellow conservatives. Different ways of being influential Burgess, the former Sotomayor clerk, disputed that. He said the times Kagan voted against both Sotomayor and Jackson were not high-profile defections. For example, in the air pollution case, Burgess suspects Kagan agreed with Jackson that the court should not have heard the fuel producers' appeal in part because their underlying complaint was likely to be addressed by the Trump administration. But once they took the case, the justices decided the legal issue in a way that didn't break a lot of new ground, he said. 'I think she seems to be more interested in coalition building and finding ways to eke out wins,' Burgess said of Kagan's overall style. 'That's one way to be influential. Another way to be influential is to try to stake out different views and hope that history comes along to your position over time.' Attack on `pure textualism' In one of Jackson's strong dissents, in a case about whether the Americans with Disabilities Act protected a disabled retiree whose health benefits were reduced, Sotomayor was on board – except for a footnote. In that lengthy paragraph, Jackson criticized her conservative colleagues' use of 'pure textualism' as 'certainly somehow always flexible enough to secure the majority's desired outcome.' 'She's saying what I think so many of us have been thinking,' Vladeck said on the podcast. He wondered whether Sotomayor didn't sign onto that footnote because she didn't agree with it or because she wanted to 'let Jackson have it for herself and not take credit for what really is an unusually strong accusation of methodological manipulation by one of the justices.' `With deep disillusionment, I dissent.' Strong accusations flew in both directions about the court's ruling limiting the ability of judges to pause Trump's policies. In her solo dissent, Jackson called the majority's 'legalese' a smokescreen obscuring a 'basic question of enormous legal and practical significance: May a federal court in the United States of America order the Executive to follow the law?' 'The very institution our founding charter charges with the duty to ensure universal adherence to the law now requires judges to shrug and turn their backs to intermittent lawlessness,' she wrote. 'With deep disillusionment, I dissent.' Barrett said there's no dispute that presidents must obey the law. 'But the Judiciary does not have unbridled authority to enforce this obligation – in fact, sometimes the law prohibits the Judiciary from doing so,' she wrote. Jackson, Barrett said, would 'do well to heed her own admonition' that everyone from the president on down is bound by the law. 'That goes for judges too,' she wrote. A focus on real-world impact and individual rights Legal commentator David Lat said Barrett's response departed from her usual 'rather restrained rhetoric.' In a Substack article, Lat noted that Barrett once described herself as a 'one jalapeño gal' compared to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, for whom Barrett clerked, who had a 'five jalapeño' style. Feldman said it's possible that Jackson's willingness to vocalize her disagreements with her conservative colleagues is getting under their skins. In a February article about how Barrett and Jackson are shaping the future of constitutional law, Feldman said the two sharp legal minds approach cases from strikingly different angles on how the law should function and who it should protect. Barrett prioritizes legal precision and institutional boundaries while Jackson focuses on real-world impact and individual rights, he wrote. When people look back at the Trump case, he told USA TODAY, they will be talking about Jackson's dissent. 'That's probably the one from the term,' he said, 'that will last the longest.'
