Supreme Court allow Trump administration to resume ‘third-country' deportations: What it means for migrants

The US Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to restart one of its most controversial immigration policies: deporting migrants to countries other than their own.

That means someone from one country can potentially be removed from the United States and sent somewhere they have never lived and may have no family or other connection.

They're known as “third-country” deportations.

The Trump administration uses them partly when a migrant cannot be returned to the country listed in their deportation order, including cases where their government refuses to take them back or US law prevents their return because of the danger they could face there.

More than 25,000 migrants have already been sent to 29 countries under the policy, according to a tally by human rights groups.

Most went to Mexico, but the US has also sent people to countries including South Sudan, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia and the Central African Republic.

The argument now before the courts isn't simply whether America can deport someone to a third country.

It is also about what happens before they are put on the plane.

A federal judge ruled that migrants must receive sufficient notice and a meaningful chance to argue that they could face persecution or torture at their new destination.

The Trump administration says that requirement makes some removals extremely difficult and argues third-country deportations are necessary, particularly for people with criminal records who cannot be sent home.

Immigration advocates say the process can expose people, including those without criminal histories, to serious danger in countries unfamiliar to them.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court temporarily sided with the administration, allowing the deportations to resume while the legal fight continues.

The decision isn't the final word. The justices will hear arguments in December over whether the administration's policy is lawful.