A US federal appeals court has largely upheld restrictions on the Trump administration’s policy of deporting migrants to countries other than their own, according to the decision described by DW.
The three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston ruled that migrants must receive effective notice of their intended destination and an opportunity to challenge removal if they fear persecution or torture there. The court said sending people to unfamiliar countries without those safeguards could deny them protections.
The case concerns a Department of Homeland Security policy allowing migrants with final deportation orders to be transferred to third countries when US authorities have diplomatic assurances that they will not face persecution or torture. The ruling blocks the administration from carrying out such removals rapidly without giving migrants a meaningful chance to raise safety concerns.
The Trump administration is expected to ask the Supreme Court to review the decision. DHS General Counsel James Percival said on X that the policy remains in force because Friday’s ruling has not yet taken effect. He wrote that DHS could send a person who claims fear in their home country to another country.
The ruling follows reports involving two men deported by the United States to Equatorial Guinea. The source, citing the Associated Press, said the men were arbitrarily detained, beaten and held at gunpoint in a hotel converted into a detention center; police also covered their heads with bags.
Since President Donald Trump returned to office, the administration has sent more than 25,000 migrants to at least 29 third countries, according to Third Country Deportation Watch, a project run by Refugees International and Human Rights First. Human rights groups have criticized the arrangements, citing the repressive governments and poor human rights records of some participating countries.