Supreme Court · Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Supreme Court takes third-country removal case; stays Massachusetts order
The File desk · Sep 30, 2026, 10:13 AM UTC
Status
Confirmed (Supreme Court miscellaneous order PDF, Sept. 29, 2026)
On Sept. 29, 2026, the Supreme Court granted a stay in Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D. and treated the stay application as a petition for certiorari, which it also granted. The Court put on hold a Feb. 25, 2026 order and judgment from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts (case No. 1:25-cv-10676) while the case proceeds. The justices directed briefing on whether the district court had jurisdiction, whether it could issue classwide declaratory relief and Administrative Procedure Act vacatur under Legal instrument A federal immigration statute that limits lower courts’ power to enjoin or restrain the operation of certain removal provisions on a classwide basis. Legal instrument The statute that sets rules for where the government may remove a noncitizen, including in some cases to a country other than the person’s home country.8 U.S.C. §1252(f)(1)
8 U.S.C. §1231(b)
On Sept. 29, 2026, the Supreme Court issued a miscellaneous order in Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D.
The docket is No. 26-426. The stay application is 26A406.
The Court granted a stay of a Feb. 25, 2026 order and judgment from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, case No. 1:25-cv-10676.
It treated the stay application as a petition for certiorari and granted that petition.
The questions include whether the district court had jurisdiction.
They include whether the court could issue classwide declaratory relief and Administrative Procedure Act vacatur under Legal instrument A federal immigration statute that limits lower courts’ power to enjoin or restrain the operation of certain removal provisions on a classwide basis.8 U.S.C. §1252(f)(1)
They include whether the government’s guidance on third-country removals is unlawful under Legal instrument The statute that sets rules for where the government may remove a noncitizen, including in some cases to a country other than the person’s home country.8 U.S.C. §1231(b)
Briefing is aimed at argument in the December 2026 sitting.
Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kagan, and Justice Jackson would have denied the application for a stay.
The order does not decide the merits.
What is still unknown or disputed
- How the stay affects day-to-day removals.
- The full merits record beyond the order.
Primary sources
Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.
Source 1
Miscellaneous order, Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D., No. 26-426 (26A406)
Supreme Court of the United States · September 29, 2026
Stay of the District of Massachusetts Feb. 25, 2026 order and judgment in No. 1:25-cv-10676 granted. Certiorari granted. Questions include jurisdiction, classwide relief under
, and third-country removal guidance underLegal instrument
8 U.S.C. §1252(f)(1)
A federal immigration statute that limits lower courts’ power to enjoin or restrain the operation of certain removal provisions on a classwide basis.
. Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kagan, and Justice Jackson would deny the application for stay.Legal instrument
8 U.S.C. §1231(b)
The statute that sets rules for where the government may remove a noncitizen, including in some cases to a country other than the person’s home country.
https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/092926zr2_1a7d.pdf