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On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled that a Trump administration policy that allowed immigrants to be expedited to other countries without the opportunity to object or raise security concerns was illegal.
US District Judge Brian Murphy of Boston issued a final ruling declaring the Department of Homeland Security’s policy invalid. The government expects the case to ultimately go to the US Supreme Court.
Murphy stated that the policy, passed in March 2025 as part of Republican President Donald Trump’s efforts to strengthen immigration policies, failed to guarantee immigrants’ due process rights, as they could be deported to “unknown and potentially dangerous countries” without warning.
Murphy explained that the government argued that under the policy, immigration officials could “legally” expedite people to so-called third countries where they were not of origin, as long as the Department of Homeland Security was unaware that someone was waiting there to kill them. “This is neither reasonable nor legal,” Judge Murphy wrote. Judge Murphy was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden. The ruling is currently suspended pending possible appeal. The judge rejected the policy, noting that affected migrants have due process rights. They are entitled to full notification and the opportunity to appeal deportation to a third country. However, the judge adjourned the ruling for 15 days to allow the government time for a possible appeal. He explained the decision as “significant and historically unique” in the case. He also cited the Supreme Court’s previous intervention in the case. Previously, the court overturned an injunction issued by Judge Murphy in April, which aimed to protect migrants’ right to a fair trial before deportation to a third country and subsequently paved the way for the deportation of eight men to South Sudan.
During the injunction’s term, it hindered the government’s efforts to deport migrants to countries other than their countries of origin, including South Sudan, Libya, and El Salvador.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cited the Supreme Court’s previous favorable ruling in the case in a statement, saying the department was “confident of winning again.”
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said, “The Department of Homeland Security must be able to exercise its lawful powers to deport undocumented immigrants to countries willing to receive them.”
Wednesday’s ruling stemmed from a class-action lawsuit on behalf of immigrants facing deportation to countries that do not recognize their rights in their countries of origin. Deportation orders were still mentioned in their immigration proceedings.
The policy allows immigrants to be deported to these countries provided that immigration authorities provide credible diplomatic assurances that they will not face persecution or torture after deportation, or that they receive only six hours’ notice of deportation.
Trina Reamuto, a plaintiffs’ attorney with the National Immigration Litigation Coalition, called Murphy’s ruling “clearly demonstrates that the government’s deportation policy against third-country nationals is unconstitutional.”
“Under this government policy, people are forcibly deported to countries where U.S. immigration judges believe they will face persecution or torture,” Reamuto said.
Lawyers for the Justice Department argued that the policy meets the requirements of immigration law and the standards of a fair trial, and is crucial for immigrants deported from their home countries for crimes. The decision has been rejected.
—Reuters
