US Supreme Court allows Trump to resume third-country migrant deportations

The US Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to resume deporting migrants to third countries without first giving them an opportunity to raise concerns that they could face torture or other human rights abuses.

The court on Tuesday also agreed to hear the case on its merits in December, with a ruling expected by July.

The three liberal justices dissented from the decision.

The policy, introduced last year as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, allows the US to deport migrants to countries other than their own when their home governments refuse to accept them.

An estimated 25,000 migrants have been removed under the programme, the CNN said in a report.

The case centres on the Convention Against Torture, which generally prohibits deportations to countries where a person could face torture.

Lower courts have ruled that migrants must be notified and given an opportunity to raise credible concerns about potential torture, while the administration argues that assurances from destination countries are sufficient.

The Supreme Court’s brief, unsigned order did not explain its reasoning.

It said the December hearing would consider whether lower courts had jurisdiction over the case, whether they could issue a ruling covering all affected migrants and whether the administration’s third-country removal policy is lawful.

The administration had appealed after the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals effectively blocked the removals, arguing that the ruling had created logistical problems and disrupted deportation operations.

The case has previously reached the Supreme Court, which twice allowed the policy to continue on an emergency basis despite opposition from the three liberal justices.

Migrant rights groups have stressed that those earlier decisions were not final rulings on the legality of the policy.

The policy drew particular scrutiny after migrants who were initially scheduled to be deported to South Sudan were detained in Djibouti last year.

The White House welcomed Tuesday’s decision, saying it affirmed Trump’s immigration and national security agenda.

Lawyers representing the migrants, however, argued that the administration should be required to follow legal procedures before carrying out third-country removals.