Third-country decision a ‘devastating result,’ lawyer says
Semafor ·
Immigrant advocates are grappling with the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the Trump administration to move forward with third-country deportations.
Immigrant advocates are grappling with the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the Trump administration to move forward with third-country deportations, which will leave the policy in place for months while they wait for the court to rule on it.
Trina Realmuto, lead counsel for the plaintiffs that challenged the policy at the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, called it a “devastating result.” She warned migrants could be sent to countries “where they may face persecution, torture, imprisonment, or other grave danger.”
The Trump administration has signed deals with various countries to accept deported migrants, many of them in Africa. Burundi was the latest to announce it will accept migrants.
The Supreme Court’s unsigned order this week lifted a ruling requiring migrants receive notice of — and a chance to challenge — their deportation to countries where they have no personal ties.
The high court will hear oral arguments on the case, but not until December, meaning a decision will come next year.
The Department of Homeland Security celebrated this week’s move, with the agency’s general counsel declaring it “a bad day for criminal illegals and open borders activists alike.”
The arrangements have drawn mounting scrutiny, most recently after migrants deported to Equatorial Guinea were held at gunpoint and beaten .
Congressional Democrats are vowing to investigate the deportations if they take control of the House or Senate — or both — in November’s midterm elections.
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