President Trump notched another major victory last week as the Supreme Court cleared the deportation of violent criminals to South Sudan.

On the same day that Congress passed Trump's signature policy bill, sending it to his desk for his signature, the highest court in the land clarified that Trump could complete the removal of eight dangerous criminals whose deportations had been placed on hold by a lower court.

"This was a win for the rule of law, safety and security of the American people,” Tricia McLaughlin, a Homeland Security spokesperson, said in a statement on Saturday.

Trump's deportation win

The Trump administration accused judge Brian Murphy of defying a previous Supreme Court ruling in June, which said Trump could rapidly deport aliens to countries where they don't have ties.

Despite the court's decision, Murphy claimed that a separate order was still in place that blocked Trump from sending eight foreign men to South Sudan.

The administration asked the Supreme Court to clarify its previous ruling, and it did so in terms favorable to Trump. The decision was 7-2, with liberal Elena Kagan joining all of the conservatives.

“The May 21 remedial order cannot now be used to enforce an injunction that our stay rendered unenforceable,” the Supreme Court’s ruling said.

The Supreme Court's ruling is a victory for Trump in his battle with district courts, which have repeatedly hemmed in his executive authority on immigration and other matters.

In the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling, Judge Murphy backed down and cleared the way for Trump to proceed with the deportations, which were completed Friday, July 4th. The men were being held in Djibouti inside a shipping container pending the legal battle.

“This Court interprets these Supreme Court orders as binding on this new petition,” Murphy said, "as Petitioners are now raising substantially similar claims, and therefore Petitioners motion is denied.”

Liberals split

The administration says that third-country removals are an essential tool in cases where aliens cannot be returned to their homelands. The men involved in this case were all criminals with convictions for serious offenses like murder and sexual assault.

While the White House emphasizes national security, critics of Trump's sweeping deportation drive have raised due process concerns. The Supreme Court's liberal wing, with the exception of Kagan, accused the administration of placing the eight men in harms' way by sending them to a war-torn country where they could face torture.

In an interesting twist, Kagan joined the conservative majority, but only to say that the Supreme Court's rulings must be respected by lower courts.

While she does not agree with the Supreme Court's handling of the deportation issue, "a majority of this Court saw things differently, and I do not see how a district court can compel compliance with an order that this Court has stayed," she said.