Trump administration asks Supreme Court to lift limits on deportations to 'third countries'

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to make it easier for officials to deport convicted criminals to "third countries" that are not their countries of origin.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to make it easier for officials to deport convicted criminals to "third countries" that are not their countries of origin.

The administration is seeking to block an injunction in which Massachusetts-based U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy said the affected immigrants nationwide should be given a "meaningful opportunity" to raise concerns that they may be at risk of torture, persecution or death.

Murphy later clarified that they should have at least 10 days to bring their claims.

Just last week, he said the administration had violated his previous order by flying eight migrants to South Sudan. The men are now being held in a U.S. facility in Djibouti.

All the immigrants potentially affected by the litigation are already subject to deportation but cannot be sent to their countries of origin, so the case hinges on what legal process they receive before they can be deported.