Sotomayor accuses Supreme Court of 'rewarding lawlessness' by Trump administration in fiery dissent
Source: CNN Politics
Published 6:02 PM EDT, Mon June 23, 2025
CNN Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the Supreme Courts senior liberal, slammed the Trump administrations handling of immigration matters in a fiery dissent Monday and accused her colleagues of rewarding lawlessness by backing its latest emergency appeal.
Sotomayors scathing, 19-page dissent came in a case in which the courts majority backed the administrations move to deport certain migrants to countries other than their homeland, including places like South Sudan, with minimal notice. But her opinion, joined by the courts other two liberals, took much broader aim at the administrations overall approach to federal courts.
Writing that President Donald Trumps administration had openly flouted two court orders, Sotomayor warned about the long-term consequences of siding with the Department of Homeland Security in the cases. Even if the orders in question had been mistaken, the government had a duty to obey them until they were reversed by orderly and proper proceedings, Sotomayor wrote. That principle is a bedrock of the rule of law. The governments misconduct threatens it to its core.
The high court, Sotomayor wrote, is abetting the administrations behavior. This is not the first time the court closes its eyes to noncompliance, nor, I fear, will it be the last, Sotomayor wrote. Yet each time this court rewards noncompliance with discretionary relief, it further erodes respect for courts and for the rule of law.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/23/politics/sonia-sotomayor-dissent-immigration-rewarding-lawlessness