A US federal appeals court has largely upheld a decision blocking the Trump administration from rapidly deporting migrants to countries other than their own without giving them a meaningful opportunity to raise safety concerns. The three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston ruled that migrants must receive effective notice of their intended destination and be allowed to challenge removal if they fear persecution or torture there.
The case concerns a Department of Homeland Security policy covering migrants with final deportation orders. Under the policy, they can be sent to third countries if US authorities have diplomatic assurances that they will not face persecution or torture. The court said the approach could deny migrants access to protections when they are sent to unfamiliar countries without adequate notice.
The Trump administration is expected to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. DHS General Counsel James Percival said on X that the policy remains in force because the court’s ruling has not yet taken effect. “If you claim fear in your home country, DHS has the right to send you elsewhere,” Percival wrote.
The decision comes after two men deported by the US to Equatorial Guinea were arbitrarily detained, according to the Associated Press, which was cited in the supplied report. Police allegedly covered the men’s heads with bags, beat them and held them at gunpoint in a hotel converted into a detention centre.
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 criticised the arrangements, pointing to the participation of countries with repressive governments and poor human rights records.