Judge rejects rapid Trump administration deportations to third countries

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Hill

02/25/26 2:54 PM ET


A federal judge in Boston ruled against the Trump administration’s request to lift a block on a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy that allows federal officials to deport migrants to countries other than their own. In a Wednesday order, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy said this third-country removal policy “is not fine, nor is it legal,” citing individual rights to due process enshrined under the U.S. Constitution.

The ruling stemmed from a March 2025 class-action lawsuit from four migrant petitioners against DHS’s deportation processes as the department updated its policy to remove procedural requirements regulating the deportation of migrants from the U.S. Under this policy, DHS permits migrants to be “removed without the need for further procedures” if the U.S. has confirmed with a country that individuals deported there “will not be persecuted or tortured.”

“This new policy—which purports to stand in for the protections Congress has mandated—fails to satisfy due process for a raft of reasons, not least of which is that nobody really knows anything about these purported ‘assurances,’” the Biden-appointee wrote, rattling off a list of questions about the policy’s applications.

The Trump administration expects the case will be elevated to the U.S. Supreme Court for a final ruling. The high court has previously intervened in the case, overriding Murphy’s April preliminary injunction that prevented DHS from deporting migrant petitioners to third countries.

Read more: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5755217-trump-deportation-policy-ruled-illegal/

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Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/klpymykyzpg/05162025thirdcountries.pdf

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. This ruling makes me smile

A federal judge deals Trump a CRUSHING defeat by ruling that his policy of deporting immigrants to "third countries" without notice or legal recourse is illegal and unconstitutional.

Link to tweet

"It is not fine, nor is it legal," wrote U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, ruling in favor of a group of noncitizens who brought a class action lawsuit against Trump's corrupt Department of Homeland Security. It was under this "third country" policy that innocent people were deported to a brutal and inhumane mega-prison in El Salvador. Murphy found that the policy violated both federal immigration law and the migrants' right to due process. The Trump administration has been ignoring laws that guarantee protection from persecution and torture.

"This new policy — which purports to stand in for the protections Congress has mandated — fails to satisfy due process for a raft of reasons, not least of which is that nobody really knows anything about these purported 'assurances.' Whom do they cover?" the judge wrote. "What do they cover? Why has the Government deemed them credible? How can anyone even know for certain that they exist?" Murphy wrote. "These are basic questions that the Constitution permits a person to ask before the Government takes away their last and only lifeline."

"These are our laws, and it is with profound gratitude for the unbelievable luck of being born in the United States of America that this Court affirms these and our nation's bedrock principle: that no 'person' in this country may be 'deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,'" he added.

Additionally, Judge Murphy found that the Trump administration violated several of his orders by deporting six migrants to El Salvador and Mexico without following the proper legal process. Then later, the administration violated his primary injunction by attempting to remove several individuals to South Sudan with less than 24 hours' notice and without a proper chance to make their case. It's exactly the kind of lawless behavior that this White House has become known for.