SCOTUS sides with Trump administration on deportation of criminal illegal aliens to Sudan

Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has faced one court challenge after another, particularly regarding his immigration enforcement agenda.

However, last week, the Trump administration notched a notable win at the U.S. Supreme Court, securing the right to deport a group of criminal aliens to South Sudan, despite the efforts of activist lower court judges to block the move, as Fox News reports.

SCOTUS greenlight given

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for the deportation of several immigrants — held in limbo in Djibouti — to South Sudan, putting a final end to a legal back-and-forth that began in May, as the Associated Press reports.

The majority of the high court’s justices determined that swift deportation to third countries to whom the illegal aliens have no ties is permissible.

In doing so, they halted an order permitting immigrants to mount challenges to removals outside their homeland.

That move reversed actions taken by federal District Judge Brian Murphy, who insisted that his order regarding this distinct group of immigrants was applicable, even though the Supreme Court lifted a broader ruling he had previously rendered.

Though liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the majority, their reliably progressive colleague, Elena Kagan, sided with the conservative wing, saying that while she disagreed with the original high court order that led to this point, there was no basis to prevent the deportations once it had been decided.

DHS heralds outcome

With the Supreme Court’s ruling in place, the eight criminal aliens at the heart of the controversy were deported to South Sudan on July 4, spurring a reaction from the Department of Homeland Security, as Fox News noted separately.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin was particularly effusive about the deportations, achieved after extensive legal wrangling.

“These sickos were finally deported to South Sudan on Independence Day,” McLaughlin proudly declared.

McLaughlin continued, “After weeks of delays by activist judges that put our law enforcement in danger, ICE deported these eight barbaric criminal illegal aliens who are so heinous even their own countries will not accept them.”

She went on, “These are not just immigration cases. These are threats to American communities that judges tried to force ICE to return to the United States.”

Legal challenges persist

While certainly a notable victory for the Trump administration, which has had to fight for its agenda in court at every turn, there are many more battles on the immigration front still to emerge.

Whether the administration will be able to replicate what McLaughlin called “a win for the rule of law, safety, and security of the American people” as additional controversies take shape, only time will tell.