The justices temporarily blocked a lower-court order while they prepare to hear arguments on the policy in December.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Trump administration to continue deporting immigrants to third countries where they have no prior ties while the justices consider whether the practice is legal.
In a brief unsigned order issued with the three liberal justices dissenting, the high court granted an emergency request from federal attorneys to halt an appeals court decision. The justices scheduled oral arguments for December, when they plan to issue a definitive ruling on whether migrants must get a meaningful opportunity to raise safety concerns before removal.
The lawsuit was brought by four unnamed immigrants who argued federal immigration law protects people from being sent to countries where they could face persecution or torture. Massachusetts-based U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy and the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had sided with the plaintiffs, putting the removals on hold when the appeals ruling took effect on Sept. 23.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the Supreme Court that the lower-court freeze caused substantial logistical hurdles, extra expenses, diplomatic problems, and an inability to remove dangerous criminals. Federal attorneys said the ruling immediately forced the cancellation of a scheduled flight carrying about 70 people with criminal convictions bound for three countries.
Government lawyers argued that individual hearings aren’t required because the receiving nations have provided assurances that deportees won’t be persecuted or tortured. Under the deals, migrants with final removal orders are sent to third countries when their native homelands won’t take them back or they can’t be returned there.
Attorneys for the immigrants argued that lower-court orders didn’t require releasing anyone from detention. They noted that some deported people have been detained indefinitely or faced physical and sexual abuse, while others were imprisoned in countries they’d never heard of. The lead plaintiff, identified in records as D.V.D., is a Cuban national with severe mental illness who fears being sent to a country where he can’t get psychiatric care.
Reports differ on the total scale of the program. According to the Associated Press, the administration has deported about 25,000 people to more than two dozen countries, including Liberia and Guyana, with Mexico receiving the vast majority. Data from the Migration Policy Institute reported by NBC News showed about 15,000 people were sent to third countries in 2025, including South Sudan, Eswatini and Rwanda, also with the majority going to Mexico.
