The Trump administration on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to lift a federal judge’s injunction that halted the deportation of eight convicted criminal illegal immigrants to South Sudan, arguing that the lower court’s intervention has left the United States stranded with dangerous detainees at a U.S. military base in Djibouti and is threatening international relations.

In an emergency application, Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the justices to stay orders issued by District Judge Brian Murphy, who required the Department of Homeland Security to delay any third-country removals unless migrants are given at least 10 days to raise fear-based claims and receive “reasonable fear” interviews, including access to legal counsel, conducted either in the U.S. or under U.S.-controlled conditions abroad.

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The eight migrants, all of whom have final removal orders and were convicted of serious violent crimes, were en route to South Sudan in early May when Murphy’s order halted their transfer mid-flight. The administration said it was then forced to reroute and hold the deportees indefinitely at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, a military facility “not designed or equipped” to detain such people.

“Having slammed on the brakes while these aliens were literally mid-flight … the court then retroactively ‘clarified’ its injunction to impose an additional set of intrusive and onerous procedures,” the Justice Department wrote in its request to the Supreme Court. “The United States has been put to the intolerable choice of holding these aliens for additional proceedings at a military facility on foreign soil — where each day of their continued confinement risks grave harm to American foreign policy — or bringing these convicted criminals back to America.”

The administration’s filing emphasized that the defense and state secretaries submitted sworn declarations warning of “significant and irreparable” harm stemming from the district court’s orders, which they say interfere with diplomatic relationships and military operations abroad.

The Supreme Court application follows escalating tensions between the administration and Murphy, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden. The judge’s original preliminary injunction has since been expanded to apply to all third-country deportations, which occur when migrants are sent to a country other than their country of origin or prior residence. In addition to delaying removals, Murphy’s orders now require extensive procedural safeguards that President Donald Trump’s officials say courts lack the jurisdiction to impose under immigration law.

The government argues that district courts are expressly barred under the Immigration and Nationality Act from interfering in the execution of final removal orders, particularly under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(g). The administration says the migrants in question have had ample opportunity to raise asylum- or torture-based claims in immigration court and are now subject to lawful removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1231.

JUDGE RULES US MUST RETAIN CUSTODY OF MIGRANTS SENT TO SOUTH SUDAN

The justices are expected to rule on the emergency request within the coming days or weeks, potentially determining whether the deportations can move forward while litigation continues in lower courts.

Meanwhile, on Murphy’s docket, the Justice Department filed an unopposed motion seeking additional time, until Friday, to submit discovery motions related to its removal of four additional migrants after the initial restraining order. That request has not yet been granted, though approval is likely.