The apparent 6-3 order temporarily lifts a lower court requirement that had forced immigration officials to give migrants a chance to object before shipping them off to third countries. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented and would have kept that lower court protection in place. The Supreme Court plans to hear full arguments on the underlying policy in December.
The Trump administration told the court last week that the lower court order was forcing delays it wanted lifted immediately, not months from now. With Tuesday's order, the administration gets its way for the time being, even though the legal fight over whether the practice is constitutional remains unresolved.
For migrants facing removal, the ruling means fewer guarantees before they can be sent somewhere they've never lived, with no personal or family connection to that country. Immigration attorneys and advocates who pushed for the objection process now have to wait until December to make their case to the full court. Deportations under the policy will continue in the meantime, and the final word won't come until winter.