The high court agreed to take up the case for oral argument in December.

September 29, 2026, 7:01 PM

The Trump administration can continue deporting migrants to third countries without prior notice after the Supreme Court on Tuesday paused a lower court order blocking the controversial policy.

In granting the government's request for a stay, the high court on Tuesday cleared federal officials to enforce rapid third-country removals for now while also agreeing to take up the case for oral argument in December.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.

Earlier this month, a three-judge panel for the First Circuit ruled that immigrants were not receiving adequate notice before being deported to nations where they have no ties or connections.

"An individual's right to contest removal to a country based on a fear of persecution in that country means little if one does not receive prior notice of the intended removal destination and a meaningful opportunity to contest that destination," wrote Circuit Judge Seth Aframe.

About 25,000 people have been deported to so-called third countries during the Trump administration's ongoing immigration crackdown, according to the immigrant rights organizations Human Rights First and Refugees International.

In this Jan. 9, 2026, file photo, a detainee of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) boards a Global X aircraft at the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport in Minnesota. Global X is the operating name of Global Crossing Airlines, which has a contract with the Trump Administration to operate deportation flights.

Annalise Kaylor/NurPhoto via Getty Images, FILE

According to immigration lawyers and advocates, third-country removals are not new, but they are rare. In recent months, the Trump administration has ramped up third-country deportations after creating a web of formal deals with nearly three dozen countries to deport asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants with criminal records with little to no warning.

The attorney that sued the Trump administration over third country deportations said the Supreme Court's order Tuesday "is a devastating result for people who may be put on a plane before they ever have notice or an opportunity to raise a fear claim."

"But today’s order does not decide whether the administration’s third-country removal policy is lawful," Trina Realmuto told ABC News. "The Court has agreed to hear that question, including whether the policy violates the statute, due process, and the protections against torture."

ABC News previously interviewed a group of Latin American men who were deported to the Central African Republic and were not informed of their destination until several hours into the flight.

"I feel kidnapped," one of the men, Aristides Fernandez Garcia, said. "They have violated all the rights that exist in life, because we are human beings."