Supreme Court allows Trump admin. to deport 8 migrants to South Sudan
July 4 (UPI) -- The conservative-leaning Supreme Court has allowed the United States to deport eight migrants being held at a military base in Djibouti to war-torn South Sudan, handing the Trump administration a victory in its crackdown on immigration.
The justices issued their ruling Thursday, which was the second time they have weighed in on the case.
On June 23, the Supreme Court stayed an April 18 preliminary injunction that prevented the federal government from removing any noncitizen to a third country other than their own without permitting them the opportunity to argue they would be subjected to tortured or receive degrading treatment.
Later that same day, a district court ruled in favor of lawyers representing eight migrants already deported to Djibouti, ordering that the Trump administration must maintain custody of them. The Trump administration then filed a request with the U.S. high court for clarification that its June ruling also applied to the men being held in the East African country.
In its two-page, unsigned ruling on Thursday, the Supreme Court said, "Our June 23 order stayed the April preliminary injunction in full."
Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, wrote in a strongly worded dissent that the Supreme Court's refusal to justify its decisions in this case "is 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 eight migrants are natives of Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar and Vietnam. Only one is from South Sudan. All have been convicted in the United States of serious crimes, including murder.
The government flew them to Djibouti in May with the intentions of sending them to South Sudan, despite the State Department having issued the highest level of warning -- Level 4: Do Not Travel -- against Americans going to South Sudan due to threats posed by crime, kidnapping and armed conflict.
The flight prompted a mad dash by their lawyers to ensure the Trump administration maintains custody of their clients.
On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security celebrated the Supreme Court ruling.
"These sickos will be in South Sudan by Independence Day," Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. Independence Day is Friday.
"A win for the rule of law, safety and security of the American people."
The Trump administration sent the migrants to Djibouti amid its crackdown on immigration, which includes mass deportations and efforts to prevent migrants from entering the country via the southern border.
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