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A key legal roadblock standing in the way of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda has been lifted by the U.S. Supreme Court, allowing the deportation of eight illegal immigrants currently held at a U.S. military base in Djibouti to move forward.
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In a 7–2 ruling delivered Thursday, the Court clarified that its earlier stay issued on June 23 applied fully to all pending cases, including the group of foreign nationals involved in this high-profile dispute. These individuals, originally slated for removal to South Sudan, had been at the center of a legal standoff triggered by a federal judge in Massachusetts.
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That judge, Brian Murphy, had previously issued an order restricting the federal government’s ability to conduct “third-country” deportations—those involving nations not named in the original removal orders—without strict safeguards, particularly regarding the risk of torture or persecution.
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Despite Murphy’s directive, a deportation attempt had already been initiated. The individuals were flown out of the U.S. but were rerouted to Djibouti, where they have remained in custody under American control at a military facility.
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The Department of Justice, under the leadership of U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer, took the issue to the Supreme Court, claiming that the decision significantly limited the executive branch’s ability to efficiently enforce immigration laws and upset delicate facets of foreign policy.
After a temporary stay was granted in June, more clarification was sought since Judge Murphy argued that his remedial order from May 21 remained in effect. In that order, the administration was accused of breaking the April injunction. The DOJ requested quick clarification from the Court to ensure that deportation operations may continue without interference.
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The Supreme Court sided with the administration, noting that the original stay had rendered Murphy’s subsequent orders unenforceable. The unsigned majority opinion, joined by Justice Elena Kagan along with the Court’s conservative bloc, emphasized that lower courts could not impose limitations once a Supreme Court stay had been granted.
In dissent, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson objected strongly to the decision, alleging that a risk of torture awaited the deportees in South Sudan and that the judiciary had a duty to intervene. Sotomayor criticized the Supreme Court for allowing the removals to move forward without adequate lower court scrutiny and transparency.
The individuals awaiting deportation include nationals from Cuba, Vietnam, and Laos, none of whom had been authorized to remain in the United States. The Supreme Court’s ruling now gives the Trump administration the green light to complete the removals as part of a broader push to restore lawful immigration enforcement, which had been undermined under prior policies.
While objections continue from progressive circles, the decision has been welcomed by those supporting a return to border integrity, national sovereignty, and the rule of law.