A second emergency ruling
The US Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for the Trump administration to keep deporting immigrants to countries where they have no ties, while a legal challenge continues. The justices granted an emergency request from the government and set aside an appeals court ruling that had called the current process unlawful. The court's three liberal justices dissented.
It is the second time the court has removed obstacles to the practice, which officials call third-country deportation.
What the policy does
Under the policy, immigration officers can put a person on a flight to a nation that is not their home and where they have never lived. The appeals court found that the process fails to give people a real chance to raise safety concerns before removal, which the court said breaks federal immigration law.
More than 25,000 migrants have already been sent to 29 countries under the policy, according to public tallies. The Supreme Court will hear full arguments in December. Until then, removal flights can continue.
Safety and dignity questions
Immigrant advocates said the ruling puts people in danger. Kevin Appleby of the Center for Migration Studies compared the situation to deporting a person from England to North Korea, saying the decision conflicts with basic human dignity and leaves migrants unable to object before they are put on a plane.
Supporters of the policy argue that the government needs room to act quickly, and that courts should not manage individual removal decisions. They point to the volume of pending cases and to countries that have agreed to take transfers.
The December review will decide whether the process has to change. For now, the practical effect is that deportation flights keep running through the autumn, a pace that both sides of the debate will be watching closely.