Trump asks Supreme Court to revive fast third-country deportations

The Trump administration has asked the US Supreme Court to allow fast deportations to third countries again. The move has intensified a legal fight over giving migrants time to raise torture or persecution fears.Image used for representational purposes onlyWashington,Sep 25, 2026 02:30 ISTThe Donald Trump administration has asked the US Supreme Court to once again allow fast deportations of immigrants to third countries where they have no ties. The request seeks an immediate pause on lower court orders that say people must be given a chance to object before being sent to a country other than their homeland.The case comes after the Supreme Court had earlier allowed such deportation flights to continue temporarily. Since then, an appeals court has upheld a final ruling by a Boston-based judge that migrants must be given a meaningful opportunity to argue that deportation to a third country could expose them to persecution or torture.The ruling does not ban third-country deportations, but it makes the process longer. The US government has argued that the order has already led to the cancellation of a flight carrying 70 people with criminal convictions to three different countries."The government has been able to remove thousands of aliens to third countries in recent months, and thousands more are eligible for such removal," Solicitor General D John Sauer wrote. The administration has said it sends people to third countries when it cannot quickly return them to their home countries. According to government lawyers, those countries have given assurances that the deportees will not face persecution or torture. The administration has also argued that the legal requirements set by the lower courts would cause repeated delays and could force existing agreements with foreign governments to be reworked. It has deported thousands of people under agreements with nearly two dozen countries, including South Sudan, Equatorial Guinea and Panama.Earlier this month, lawyers for two men deported to Equatorial Guinea said they were beaten and held at gunpoint in a hotel-turned-detention centre by police who covered their heads with bags. The case has come up as the Trump administration presses ahead with a broader immigration crackdown and has pledged to deport millions of people living in the United States illegally. In its latest appeal, the administration has asked the Supreme Court to clear the way for continued quick third-country deportations, while lower court rulings continue to require that migrants be allowed to challenge such removals on safety grounds.With PTI Inputs- Ends