Last week, the Supreme Court let the Trump administration resume deporting people to countries other than their own.
asserted
administration → let → own
The 6-3 order is temporary, and the justices will hear arguments on Dec. 9.
asserted
justices → hear → Dec.
Protecting citizens is government’s first job, voters hired this administration to do it, and Congress should write a fast, lawful process so judges don’t have to improvise one.
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judges → protect → one
The stay pauses a February ruling by U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, largely upheld by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, that required written notice and a chance to object before removal to a third country.
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that → pause → country
Nobody has decided whether the administration’s process is lawful.
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process → decide → ?
The administration says the policy has run for 15 months and has removed thousands of people.
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policy → say → people
These removals apply to people already ordered removed.
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removals → apply → people
When a home country refuses them, the law lets the government send them to another country that will accept them.
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that → refuse → them
The alternative is detention, and the court held in Zadvydas v. Davis that removable people can’t be held indefinitely.
asserted
people → hold → Davis
In July 2025, DHS said five men sent to Eswatini had convictions that included murder and child rape.
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that → say → murder
Their home countries were Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen, and Laos, and four of the five have historically resisted taking back some citizens.
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four → resist → citizens
Every week of delay in cases like those leaves such men in custody at taxpayer expense or, once the Zadvydas clock runs out, possibly on the street.
uncertain
clock → leave → street
Justice Department lawyers told the Court that DHS canceled a flight carrying 70 people, some with criminal records, after the lower-court rulings.
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DHS → tell → rulings
Critics picture black sites.
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Critics → picture → sites
The tracking data tells a duller story.
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data → tell → story
Refugees International and Human Rights First count more than 25,000 third-country removals to at least 29 countries, about 20,000 of them (roughly 80%) to Mexico, a neighbor with a land border and a long way from Devil’s Island.
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International → count → Island
Those tallies come from advocacy groups and don’t separate violent offenders from everyone else, so treat them as a floor for debate and not a verdict.
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tallies → come → debate
Eight years in private security and executive protection taught me that threats keep their own schedule.
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threats → teach → schedule
Border policy works the same way.
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policy → work → way
CBP recorded more than 10.8 million encounters nationwide from fiscal 2021 through 2024, according to a House Homeland Security tally of agency data.
uncertain
CBP → record → data
Encounters count events, so repeat crossers inflate the figure.
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crossers → count → figure
Still, no agency handles volume like that with one improvised hearing at a time.
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agency → handle → time
In September 2022, nearly 50 migrants landed on the island that gave us the movie Jaws.
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that → land → movie
Within days, then-Gov. Charlie Baker moved them to Joint Base Cape Cod, saying the island lacked the resources to house them long term.
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island → move → them
Hospitality has a carrying capacity, and even the most welcoming communities find it.
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communities → have → it
The other side deserves a fair hearing.
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side → deserve → hearing
Challengers told the Supreme Court that deportees have faced beatings, sexual assault, and disappearance abroad.
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deportees → tell → beatings
Those are allegations, and a person with a real fear of torture should get to say so before boarding a plane.
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person → get → plane
Not every person on a flight has a criminal record.
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person → have → record
The government replies that finding willing countries is a delicate diplomatic endeavor that a patchwork of court-ordered procedures can wreck.
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patchwork → reply → procedures
Both sides have a point, which is why Congress should draw the line instead of a single district judge.
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Congress → have → judge
Judges get a clear standard to review.
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Judges → get → standard
DHS gets a clear rule to follow.
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DHS → get → rule
Detainees get a hearing before departure, while it still matters.
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it → get → departure
My son graduated from West Point, and my brother spent his career as a Green Beret weapons sergeant.
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brother → graduate → sergeant
In my family, the lesson is that a mission without clear rules of engagement fails twice, once in the field and once in the courtroom.
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mission → fail → courtroom
The court bought time.
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court → buy → time
Congress should spend it.
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Congress → spend → it
He has a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice from Northeastern University and has completed postgraduate studies at UCLA, the University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard.
asserted
He → have → Pennsylvania
He writes about issues in finance, constitutional law, national security, human nature, and public policy.
asserted
He → write → finance
The Aporia
