A US federal appeals court has rejected the Trump administration’s policy of rapidly deporting migrants to countries other than their own, in a ruling that could now reach the Supreme Court.
A three-judge panel of the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston on Friday largely upheld a February ruling that declared the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) so-called third-country removal policy unlawful, reports Al Jazeera.
The case arose from a class-action lawsuit examining what due process protections migrants are entitled to before being deported to countries with which they have no ties.
Writing for the panel, US Circuit Judge Seth Aframe said migrants must have a “meaningful” opportunity to raise safety concerns before they are removed. He rejected the Trump administration’s narrower interpretation of the law.
However, the appeals court overturned part of the earlier ruling on procedural grounds. That issue involved whether US officials must first attempt to deport migrants to countries with which they have ties.
Trina Realmuto, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs at the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, said the ruling confirmed that “due process and the protections Congress enacted against persecution and torture cannot be circumvented by putting someone on a plane to a country that was never part of their removal proceedings”.
The DHS did not immediately comment. The Trump administration is expected to appeal the decision.
Under Trump, the US has reached agreements allowing it to deport more than 25,000 migrants to at least 29 third countries, most frequently Mexico, according to Third Country Deportation Watch, a tracker run by Refugees International and Human Rights First.
The policy, introduced in March 2025, allowed US authorities to carry out removals with only minimal notice if officials had diplomatic assurances that migrants would not face persecution.
The controversial programme has already reached the Supreme Court twice.
In 2025, the justices cleared the way for eight men, including nationals of Cuba, Myanmar and Vietnam, to be deported to South Sudan. The US State Department advises against travel to the country because of “crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict”.
The DHS described those removals as “a win”, while rights groups said they violated basic protections.
The Trump administration’s immigration agenda has faced several setbacks this month.
A federal judge blocked planned caps on student and journalist visas, describing the government’s justification as “exceptionally weak”.
Meanwhile, a coalition of 22 states and Washington, DC, sued to block a separate rule that would allow officials to deny green cards to immigrants who lawfully use public benefits.
