Trump administration's third-country deportation policy unlawful, judge finds

[In It to Win It]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2026/02/25/federal-judge-migrants-deportations-trump-ruling/

A federal judge in Boston ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration’s policy of deporting undocumented immigrants to countries where they are not citizens is unconstitutional, saying the government must provide more time for people to legally challenge their removals over concerns that they could face imminent danger.

U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy’s final decision invalidates a policy memo last spring from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that allows enforcement officers to deport migrants to countries that are not their own with as little as six hours’ notice.

The ruling could make it more difficult for the administration, which immigration experts said has sent thousands of migrants to so-called third countries, to continue to use the practice as widely, as authorities seek to speed up President Donald Trump’s mass deportation program.

In an 81-page ruling, Murphy said the administration must give migrants “meaningful notice before removal to any third country” and allow them time to raise a country-specific objection. The judge criticized the government for implementing a policy that relies on vague “assurances” that the migrants will not be persecuted or harmed once they arrive in the third countries.

US District Judge Murphy said it right: "This new policy... fails to satisfy due process for a raft of reasons."
 
Like it or not, the Constitution's due process rights apply to EVERYONE. And the Trump Administration's draconian policy clearly fails to uphold those rights.

— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@vanhollen.senate.gov) 2026-02-26T00:16:34.022Z