Supreme Court Delivers Another Key Ruling
The Trump administration has been authorized by the Supreme Court to repatriate a group of immigrants detained at a U.S. military base in Djibouti to South Sudan.
The justices confirmed in a brief opinion on Friday that the eight immigrants in U.S. custody in Djibouti are fully covered by their earlier order, which stayed a federal judge’s decision in Massachusetts that had limited the government’s ability to deport immigrants to nations not specifically listed in their removal orders.
The injunction was issued less than two weeks after U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy’s decision was halted by the top court. According to his directive, the federal government could not send immigrants to “third countries”—those not listed in their removal orders—without first ensuring, via a number of precautions, that the individuals would not be subjected to torture upon their return.
According to Murphy’s May 21 ruling, the administration attempted to deploy eight people to South Sudan in violation of his April 18 injunction. All non-emergency workers from South Sudan have been ordered home by the United States, and the State Department advises against traveling there due to “crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict.”
Instead, the jet that was scheduled to transport the migrants to South Sudan touched down in nearby Djibouti. Since then, the men have been detained within a military installation in the United States.
The Trump administration filed an appeal with the Supreme Court on May 27 to suspend Murphy’s April 18 ruling, requesting authorization to carry out “third country” removals while the legal dispute over the practice develops.
According to U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer, Murphy’s “judicially created procedures are currently wreaking havoc on the third-country removal process” and “disrupt[ing] sensitive diplomatic, foreign policy, and national-security efforts.”
The attorneys for the immigrants who might be deported to a third nation urged the justices to uphold Murphy’s ruling. Murphy’s ruling “simply requires” the Trump administration “to follow the law” when carrying out these deportations, they said, but the government may still carry them out.
Murphy stated that even after the Supreme Court addressed the Trump administration’s initial request on June 23, his May 21 decision remained in force.
The Trump administration returned to the Supreme Court the following day, asking the justices to clarify the authority of the federal government to deport the people currently detained in Djibouti. Sauer urged the court to act swiftly to address Murphy’s “unprecedented defiance” of the court’s jurisdiction.
An unsigned majority of the court’s decision on Thursday stated that the “June 23 order stayed the April 18 preliminary injunction in full.” Our stay prevented the enforcement of an injunction, which cannot be carried out by the May 21 ruling.
The conservative majority on the court was opposed by liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson. However, Justice Elena Kagan concurred with the conservative majority of the court.
She stated that she had disapproved of the Supreme Court’s initial ruling permitting removals to third nations. “But most of this court saw things differently, and I don’t see how a district court can force compliance with an order that this court has stayed,” she stated.
The eight undocumented immigrants are reportedly from Laos, Vietnam, and Cuba.
According to Sotomayor, “What the Government wants to do, concretely, is send the eight noncitizens it illegally removed from the United States from Djibouti to South Sudan, where they will be turned over to the local authorities without regard for the likelihood that they will face torture or death.”
The government should have established its case in the lower courts first, she added, therefore the court shouldn’t have even considered the government’s request. She additionally stated that the Supreme Court’s “continued refusal to justify its extraordinary decisions in this case, even as it faults lower courts for failing to properly divine their import, is indefensible.”
My Husband Left Me in Rags for His Mistress. He Didn't Know My Billionaire Father Owned the Gala.
He took his mistress to the most prestigious gala in the city and left me standing in an old evening dress, then looked me in the eye and said, ""You'll only embarrass me."" He thought humiliating me would be the end of the story. He had no idea that one phone call I'd kept hidden for three years was about to shake everything he had built.
""You really planned to wear that?""
My husband's voice drifted up from the front entrance, cold enough to make my hands tremble. I stood frozen in front of the bedroom mirror, staring at the navy dress I had treasured since before we got married. The fabric was still elegant, but time had begun to show along the sleeves. I smoothed them anyway, hoping they looked less obvious.
Outside, Spencer Reed stepped out of his black SUV looking like the perfect CEO, every inch polished and confident. From the hallway, I heard our housekeeper, Mrs. Evelyn, gently ask if she should tell me it was time to come downstairs.
""There isn't any reason,"" Spencer answered without hesitation. ""Paisley's coming with me.""
His words hit harder than a slap.
I walked to the window and watched him adjust his cuff links without even glancing toward the house. Three years of marriage... and somehow I still kept convincing myself that if I stayed humble enough, patient enough, invisible enough, he would eventually love me.
I was wrong.
The sound of high heels echoed through the marble foyer.
Paisley Dawson slipped beside him wearing a shimmering gold gown that looked like it belonged on a magazine cover. Around her neck sparkled a diamond necklace that cost more than I had probably spent on myself during our entire marriage.
She smiled sweetly before looking me up and down.
""So... you're the wife.""
Her eyes paused on my worn sleeves, and she laughed softly.
""Now I understand why Spencer never brings you anywhere.""
I waited.
Surely my husband would say something.
Anything.
Instead, he smiled at her.
""You look incredible.""
The room suddenly felt colder.
Paisley rested her hand possessively on his arm.
""The Apex Group charity gala isn't a place for someone dressed like... that,"" she said. ""Tonight will be filled with CEOs, senators, investors—people who actually matter. You'd only make Spencer look bad.""
Every word was carefully chosen to wound.
I turned to Spencer, refusing to let them see the anger building inside me.
He didn't defend me.
He didn't deny her words.
He simply offered Paisley his arm.
""We're late.""
That was all.
I stood silently as the front door closed behind them. A few seconds later, the SUV disappeared through the gates, its taillights fading into the evening.
Mrs. Evelyn quietly walked over and touched my arm.
""I'm so sorry, Mrs. Reed. Would you like me to make you some dinner?""
I forced a faint smile.
""No... thank you.""
I climbed the stairs alone and shut the bedroom door behind me. Through the window I could see the skyline where tonight's gala was already beginning, lights glowing above the city like another world I was never meant to enter.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message.
Unknown number.
When I opened it, my stomach dropped.
It was a selfie from the back seat of Spencer's SUV.
Paisley leaned against him with a smug grin, flashing a peace sign while Spencer's reflection appeared beside her in the window.
Below the photo she had written:
""By the time tonight is over, he'll belong to me completely. Have fun waiting at home.""
I didn't cry.
Instead, I walked to my vanity, opened the lowest drawer, and pulled out a small red velvet box I hadn't touched in three years.
Inside rested a SIM card.
The one I promised myself I'd never need again.
I slipped it into my phone.
Only one contact appeared.
Dad.
My thumb hovered over the screen before I finally pressed Call.
One ring.
Two.
Three.
Then I heard the voice I hadn't allowed myself to hear since I walked away from my family.
""Phoebe?""
His voice sounded older... but the concern was still there.
My throat tightened.
""Dad...""
For a moment I couldn't speak.
Then the words finally escaped.
""I want to come home.""
Silence.
Long enough to make my heart pound.
Finally, my father—Raymond Harrell, the billionaire whose name could open almost any door in the country—answered with a voice trembling from emotion.
""My little girl...""
Another pause.
""I'm coming to get you.""
In that instant, everything changed.
Spencer believed tonight would elevate his empire.
He had no idea the most powerful man he'd ever unknowingly offended was already on his way.
