Federal Appeals Court Blocks Trump Administration's Third-Party Deportation Policy

A federal appeals court has formally struck down the Trump administration's policy of deporting illegal immigrants to third-party countries, ruling that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) must allow migrants a meaningful chance to claim they would face danger if deported to such nations.

The Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued a ruling last week that endorsed a lower court order, and this week formally issued a mandate dissolving a stay that had permitted third-party deportations to continue during litigation.

The decision came after ICE officials attempted to deport a Peruvian migrant to Ghana, prompting the court to clarify its stance. According to The American Prospect, ICE had argued that the Peruvian migrant, identified as John Doe, could still be deported because the First Circuit had not formally issued a mandate striking down the policy.

The First Circuit's ruling upheld a February 2026 decision from U.S. District Court Judge Brian Murphy, who found that the third-party deportations violated migrants' due process rights by potentially sending them to unfamiliar or dangerous countries without their knowledge.

First Circuit Judge Seth Aframe, one of two Biden appointees on the three-judge panel, stated that Murphy was correct to require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to allow migrants a "meaningful" opportunity to raise concerns about potential deportation destinations. "DHS's proposed interpretation would deny access to that protection to a substantial swath of noncitizens who are sent to third ⁠countries with ​no notice of their destination," Aframe wrote in the court's order. "We decline to adopt such an interpretation."

The Trump administration had frequently utilized third-party countries for deportations, particularly for migrants who claimed they would face torture if returned to their home countries.