President Donald Trump promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history” on the campaign trail.
He’s not yet achieved that aim — but has taken unexpected steps in pursuit of that goal, from sending immigrants to a prison in El Salvador to deporting people to countries other than their countries of origin.
That latter strategy is now before the Supreme Court, in part because Trump sent some immigrants scheduled to be deported to South Sudan. The country is in the middle of some serious political problems — ones so volatile as to render it unsafe, according to opponents of Trump’s policy.
As a result, the issue is not just whether Trump can send immigrants to any country he chooses, but whether he can send people to countries where they are at risk of being harmed. It’s an interesting case that could have major implications for how the US does immigration policy — and Ian Millhiser has broken it down expertly. Check his piece out!
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—Sean Collins, news editor
