WASHINGTON, D.C.—The United States Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision of Monday, June 23, granting the Trump administration’s request to stay a lower court injunction, now paving the way to proceed with deporting illegal immigrants to a third county not specified in their removal orders.
The unsigned order pauses a ruling by U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Massachusetts, which had required the government to provide written notice and an opportunity for detainees to express fears of torture before such removals. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, with Sotomayor arguing that the decision by the majority rewards the Trump administration’s noncompliance with court orders, such as deporting class members to South Sudan and El Salvador.
“The Government thus openly flouted two court orders, including the one from which it now seeks relief,” wrote Justice Sotomayor. “Even if the orders in question had been mistaken, the Government had a duty to obey them until they were ‘reversed by orderly and proper proceedings.’ … That principle is a bedrock of the rule of law. The Government’s misconduct threatens it to its core.”
Sotomayor’s further warns that the majority’s ruling risks exposing thousands to torture or death by undermining judicial oversight.
“For their part, the plaintiffs in this case face extraordinary harms from even a temporary grant of relief to the Government.… The Government has made clear in word and deed that it feels itself unconstrained by law, free to deport anyone anywhere without notice or an opportunity to be heard. The episodes of noncompliance in this very case illustrate the risks,” wrote Justice Sotomayor.
The case, Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D., stems from a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy initiated in February 2025, following an executive order by President Donald Trump to expedite deportations of noncitizens with final removal orders. The policy directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to explore third-country removals—deportations to countries other than an immigrant’s home country or country of entry—when return to their home country risked torture.
A subsequent March guidance outlined procedures for such removals, requiring notice and a screening process only if immigrants affirmatively expressed fear of torture, unless the receiving country provided assurances against persecution.
The plaintiffs, four undocumented immigrants facing third-country deportations, filed a class-action lawsuit in Massachusetts, alleging the DHS policy violated the Administrative Procedure Act, due process under the Fifth Amendment, and protections under the Convention Against Torture, as implemented by the 1998 Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act.
Judge Murphy’s April 18, 2025, preliminary injunction mandated written notice, a 10-day period to raise torture concerns, a “reasonable fear” screening, and 15 days to seek reopening of immigration proceedings. The First Circuit declined to stay the order, prompting the Trump administration’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Author: Mario Lotmore
