The Supreme Court on Tuesday put a hold on a Massachusetts federal judge’s ruling that had blocked the Trump administration from deporting illegal aliens to countries other than their own, marking the third time the case has landed before the justices.
The order, unsigned and decided 6-3, paused a judgment from U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, an appointee of President Biden. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
The dispute centers on the administration’s practice of removing illegal aliens to third countries — nations that are not their country of origin. Murphy has repeatedly sought to stop the policy, and the administration has repeatedly gone to the Supreme Court to keep it running.
A Recurring Fight
The high court first intervened last year, staying Murphy’s preliminary injunction against the policy by a 6-3 vote. Murphy responded within hours by issuing a new order, arguing the Supreme Court’s stay did not touch his original blockade. That forced the administration back to the justices for clarification, and the Court ruled 7-2 that its earlier order did indeed cover Murphy’s injunction.
Justice Kagan, writing separately at that stage, criticized Murphy’s resistance to the Court’s ruling even though she had disagreed with the majority’s decision to stay his injunction in the first place.
“I do not see how a district court can compel compliance with an order that this Court has stayed.”
Murphy went on to issue a final judgment in February again blocking the third-country deportations. The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals initially paused that ruling in the administration’s favor, but allowed it to take effect earlier this month — prompting the administration’s latest emergency appeal to the Supreme Court.
What Happens Next
Along with staying Murphy’s order, the Supreme Court agreed to hear full arguments in the case during its upcoming 2026 term, with oral arguments set for December. An exact date has not yet been announced.
The justices directed the government and the challengers to submit briefs on several questions, including whether Murphy has jurisdiction over the claims at issue, whether he had authority to grant classwide relief and vacate agency guidance under the Administrative Procedure Act, and whether the administration’s guidance on third-country removals violates federal law or the Constitution’s due process clause.
Tuesday’s stay of Murphy’s ruling will remain in effect until the Supreme Court rules on the merits of the case.
