The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the Trump administration to deport eight immigrants currently detained at a U.S. military base in Djibouti to South Sudan, a country not named in their original removal orders. In a 7–2 unsigned opinion issued Thursday, the justices ruled that their June 23 order—which stayed an earlier injunction by a Massachusetts federal judge—applies in full, allowing third-country removals to proceed.
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy had previously barred deportations to third countries without safeguards against torture. He ruled that the government violated this order by attempting to deport the men, despite the State Department’s warnings against travel to South Sudan due to violence and instability.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, with Sotomayor warning that the deportees face potential torture or death. Justice Elena Kagan joined the conservative majority, stating that a district court cannot enforce an injunction already stayed by the high court.
The eight immigrants—reportedly from Cuba, Vietnam, and Laos—remain in Djibouti awaiting deportation as legal challenges continue.