High court refuses stay to Iranian students

The Supreme Court Monday refused to block deportation of Iranian students -- an action President Carter ordered in retaliation for the taking of American hostages in Tehran.

Without comment, the court declined to grant a stay to the Confederation of Iranian Students, which was seeking to bar the Immigration and Naturalization Service from deporting students pending a full-scale appeal to the high court. On March 12, Chief Justice Warren Burger refused the same request.

So far, the government has found fewer than 7,000 students deportable and has started more than 5,000 deportation proceedings, according to lawyers for the students. However, only 19 students have actually been deported and 43 have been ordered to leave.