“For all that, moreover, the majority does not actually clarify its prior decision. The majority says it expects ‘that the District Court will now conform its order to our previous stay,’ ante, at 2, but it refuses to explain what such conformity would involve. As a result, today’s order not only excuses (once again) the Government’s undisguised con-tempt for the Judiciary; it also leaves the District Court without any guidance about how this litigation should proceed. The District Court cannot adjudicate plaintiffs’ serious due process claims on their merits without ensuring, by way of injunctive relief, its jurisdiction over the case. Yet this Court refuses to explain what injunctive relief, if any, it believes the District Court can issue,” Sotomayor wrote in her dissent.
She continued her rebuke, warning that the Court’s stance risks letting the government sidestep constitutional protections.
“Perhaps the majority hopes that, in light of its content-less stay order, the District Court will simply give up on adjudicating this case. But if this Court wishes to permit the Government to flout the fundamental rights guaran-teed by the Due Process Clause, it cannot avoid accountability for that lawlessness by tasking the lower courts with inventing a rationale. The Court’s continued refusal to justify its extraordinary decisions in this case, even as it faults lower courts for failing properly to divine their import, is indefensible,” Sotomayor said.
In perhaps her sharpest criticism, Sotomayor suggested that the Trump Administration enjoys an unfair shortcut to the nation’s highest court:
“In a democracy, power implies responsibility. The greater the power that defies law the less tolerant can this Court be of defiance. As the Nation’s ultimate judicial tribunal, this Court, beyond any other organ of society, is the trustee of law and charged with the duty of securing obedience to it.” Mine Workers, 330 U. S., at 312 (Frankfurter, J., concurring in judgment). This Court continues to invert those principles. Today’s order clarifies only one thing: Other litigants must follow the rules, but the administration has the Supreme Court on speed dial. Respectfully, I dissent,” Sotomayor said.
The legal fight erupted after U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, a Biden appointee, ruled in May that the Trump Administration violated his order by failing to provide the eight illegal immigrants with “meaningful” due process. Murphy objected to the government’s efforts to deport the group to so-called “third-party” countries that could be dangerous.
Judge Brian E. Murphy / screen image from Senate confirmation
Attorneys for the migrants argued that some hail from Laos, Vietnam, and Cuba, and that deporting them to places like South Sudan could place them in serious peril.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government has been forced into a highly unusual and risky operation in Djibouti, where the migrants have been detained in makeshift conditions. According to filings, the eight individuals are currently confined in a conference room inside a converted Conex shipping container on the U.S. Naval base at Camp Lemonnier.
This improvisation has also put American personnel at significant risk. The court filings paint a stark picture of life for ICE agents forced to stay in Djibouti to guard the detainees amid sweltering heat, disease threats, and potential terrorist attacks.
ICE revealed the grim living conditions in official court documents:
“The aliens are currently being held in a conference room in a converted Conex shipping container on the U.S. Naval base in Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti. This has been identified as the only viable place to house the aliens,” ICE said in a court filing.
criminal aliens deported to South Sudan part 1criminal aliens deported to South Sudan part 2
Conditions are so harsh that agents face health hazards and security dangers every day, including the threat of deadly rocket strikes.
“Upon arrival in Djibouti, officers were warned by U.S. Department of Defense officials of imminent danger of rocket attacks from terrorist groups in Yemen. The ICE officers lack body armor or other gear that would be appropriate in the case of an attack,” ICE said.
Thursday’s Supreme Court decision clears the way for the Trump Administration to proceed with the deportations, despite the fierce legal and political battles swirling around the case. For now, the ruling lifts the immediate obstacles, though further litigation could still unfold as lower courts grapple with the complex due process claims Sotomayor referenced in her dissent.
The drama underscores the enduring clash between a robust immigration enforcement agenda and the judicial branch’s concerns over constitutional protections for migrants, setting the stage for more high-stakes legal showdowns in the months ahead.
