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Court Battles

Appeals court allows Trump to swiftly deport migrants to third countries

by Zach Schonfeld - 03/16/26 2:21 PM ET

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A federal appeals court ruled Monday that the Trump administration may keep swiftly deporting migrants to countries where they have no ties as a legal challenge unfolds.

The 2-1 vote on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit contained no explanation. The panel also expedited the schedule for the case’s next stage.

The Trump administration as part of its aggressive immigration crackdown has ramped up sending migrants to places other than their home countries, known as third country removals. It has struck deals with Cameroon, South Sudan and Eswatini, among other countries, to take in deportees.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has defended the practice by saying it is aimed at removing some of the most “barbaric” individuals living illegally in the U.S. In court, the Trump administration has mainly argued that federal judges have no authority to intervene.

The 1st Circuit majority comprised of Judge Jeffrey Howard, nominated by former President George W. Bush, and Judge Seth Aframe, nominated by former President Biden. Fellow Biden nominee Lara Montecalvo was the sole dissenter.

It lifts limits on the policy imposed by U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, another Biden nominee who oversees a class action lawsuit filed by four noncitizens a year ago.

“While the order unfortunately delays implementation of the decision, we appreciate that the First Circuit ordered a swift resolution of the merits of the government’s appeal,” said Trina Realmuto, executive director of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, which represents the migrants.

Last year, the Trump administration went to the Supreme Court and won after Murphy limited third country removals at an earlier stage of the case. In his final ruling last month, Murphy said material differences had emerged and blocked the policy once again.

“It is not fine, nor is it legal,” Murphy wrote.

His ruling required the administration to first try to remove migrants to the normally designated country or where they have citizenship. If those fail, the judge said they have the right to a “meaningful opportunity” to contest their deportation once a third country is selected.

Murphy had delayed implementation until the 1st Circuit could weigh in. The new ruling keeps his order halted until the appeal is resolved.

In a statement, a DHS spokesperson said its position has “once again been vindicated.”

“The Biden Administration allowed millions of illegal aliens to flood our country, and the Trump Administration has the authority to remove these criminal illegal aliens and clean up this national security nightmare,” the spokesperson said. “If these activists judges had their way, aliens who are so uniquely barbaric that their own countries won’t take them back, including convicted murderers, child rapists and drug traffickers, would walk free on American streets.”

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