Trump administration urgently asks Supreme Court to authorize South Sudan deportations

The Trump administration urgently asked the Supreme Court to intervene and authorize deportations to South Sudan and other countries.

The federal government's request comes after a lower court stopped the removals by requiring the Trump administration to give advance notice to people about to be removed to a third country other than their own.

In its emergency request, the Trump administration argued that federal Judge Brian Murphy caused a major "diplomatic and logistical morass" by ordering the government to halt all deportations to South Sudan just as seven people had been sent to the country.

According to DOJ lawyers, Judge Murphy "slammed on the brakes while these aliens were literally mid-flight—thus forcing the government to detain them at a military base in Djibouti not designed or equipped to hold such criminals."

Thus, the DOJ asked the Supreme Court for its quick intervention and authorization to deport the illegal immigrants to South Sudan and other countries without having to overcome the additional hurdles imposed by Murphy. Specifically, the government asked for a stay of the judge's order.

In its request, the Trump administration also argued that Judge Murphy was overstepping his powers and discrediting the government's authority in foreign policy by not allowing the shipment of "dangerous criminals" to third countries.

For months now, the Department of State has been negotiating with at least a dozen countries to send illegal immigrants with U.S. backgrounds. Earlier this month, the government attempted to deport a group of men to Libya, but the same court blocked the move.

Trump administration officials have said publicly that the immigrants at risk of deportation were previously convicted of crimes ranging from robbery to sexual assault and murder.

"Convincing third countries to accept some of the most undesirable aliens requires sensitive diplomacy, which involves negotiation and the balancing of other foreign-policy interests. Until recently, those efforts were working," the Department of Justice argued before the Supreme Court.