A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration’s policy to quickly remove people to third countries to which they have no previous connection is illegal and that people must receive meaningful notice and the chance to challenge their deportations.
“This case is about whether the Government may, without notice, deport a person to the wrong country, or a country where he is likely to be persecuted, or tortured, thereby depriving that person of the opportunity to seek protections to which he would be undisputedly entitled,” U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy wrote in what is likely to be his final ruling on the merits of the case.
The case originated after eight migrants were removed from the United States with the intended destination of South Sudan in March but were instead rerouted to Djibouti. The eight migrants did not have South Sudan or Djibouti as the listed country on their final orders of removal paperwork, and immigration advocates filed a lawsuit in an attempt to get them back to the U.S. for due process.
Murphy said the federal government may not remove people with final orders of removal to third countries other than their own. Instead, the government must first try to send people to the countries of removal listed on their paperwork. An immigration judge issues a "final order of removal,” which orders a noncitizen’s deportation. The person is then able to appeal the judge's decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals within 30 days of the ruling.
Murphy also ordered the Trump administration to provide “meaningful notice” before any removals to third countries to give people due process and time to challenge their removals.
Last year, the Supreme Court paused an order by Murphy that had temporarily blocked the administration from sending noncitizens to third countries unless they were first able to have a “meaningful opportunity” to bring claims that they would be at risk of torture, persecution or death.
In the order struck down by the Supreme Court, Murphy had suggested 15 days would be enough time to allow challenges to be filed. The Supreme Court did not weigh in on that issue.
“Congress made it ‘the policy of the United States not to expel, extradite, or otherwise effect the involuntary return of any person to a country’ where that ‘person would be in danger of being subjected to torture,’” Murphy wrote in his ruling Wednesday, referring to the Immigration and Nationality Act and the United Nations Convention Against Torture. “Congress decided that the Government ‘may not remove’ someone to a country where her ‘life or freedom would be threatened.’”
Murphy said in May that the administration had failed to adhere to an injunction he issued in March that prevented people from being sent to countries other than their own without opportunities to raise fears of persecution or torture.
The Supreme Court then paved the way for the Department of Homeland Security to resume swift deportations of migrants to third countries last year.
The White House defended its actions after it sent the eight men to South Sudan in March.
“The Trump Administration removed dangerous criminal illegal aliens from America in full compliance with all court orders,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement in May. “We are confident in the legality of our actions and do not apologize for acting to protect the American people.”
In a filing at the Supreme Court, the Trump administration said it had received assurances from South Sudan that the eight men would “not be subject to torture” under the U.N. Convention Against Torture.
After the Supreme Court ruling, Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued guidance in July that its employees were allowed in certain circumstances to deport migrants to countries that were not their own in as little as six hours — and without assurances from the third countries that they “will not be persecuted or tortured.”
In other cases, according to the guidance, ICE must serve immigrants with notices of removal that list what countries the government intends to deport them to in language the immigrants understand.
ICE officers will not affirmatively ask whether a person is afraid of being sent to a country, according to the memo, but those who voice such fear will be referred for screening for possible protection within 24 hours. ICE could still try to send people to countries other than the ones they feared being sent to.
Murphy paused his ruling for 15 days Wednesday to give the Trump administration time to appeal.
Murphy’s ruling applies to people who had final removal orders and who have been, or may be, deported to third countries to which they have no connection and that are not listed as their destinations on their final orders of removal on or after Feb. 18, 2025.
