US Supreme Court opens term allowing third-country deportations to proceed
Primary region US
Tags Justice · Immigration
Regions US
The US Supreme Court opened its new term on the first Monday of October 2026 and granted three cases, while allowing third-country deportations to proceed for now, according to SCOTUSblog. By declining to stay removals, the Court left the underlying litigation active while the executive branch continues the policy. Justice Alito recused himself in a climate case argued in the term's opening week, leaving eight justices to hear it.
Strategic interpretation
Emergency-docket decisions that let a policy operate during litigation shift practical leverage to the executive, because removals that happen are not undone if the challengers later win. The recusal is mechanically significant: with eight justices, a tie affirms the lower court without setting nationwide precedent, so the climate case may resolve little beyond itself. Whether the Court's three new grants produce broad rules or narrow ones may matter more for the term than the emergency orders.