RismadarVoice Reporters
September 19, 2026
A United States federal appeals court has rejected a Trump administration policy that allowed migrants to be rapidly deported to countries other than their own without a meaningful opportunity to raise concerns about persecution or torture.
A three-judge panel of the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled on Friday that migrants facing removal to so-called third countries must receive meaningful notice and an opportunity to raise safety-related objections before deportation.
The ruling largely upheld a February lower-court decision that found the Department of Homeland Security’s third-country removal policy unlawful.
Writing for the panel, Circuit Judge Seth Aframe rejected the administration’s argument for a more streamlined removal process, holding that existing laws and regulations require migrants to have a meaningful opportunity to present claims that they could face persecution or torture in the proposed destination country.
The appeals court, however, overturned one part of the lower court’s decision on procedural grounds. That provision had required authorities to first attempt removal to countries with which the affected migrants had existing ties before considering other destinations.
The dispute centres on the level of due process required when US authorities seek to deport a person to a country that was not identified in the original removal proceedings.
The administration adopted the policy in March 2025 as part of its broader immigration enforcement programme.
The ruling does not generally prevent the United States from deporting migrants to third countries. Instead, it limits how such removals may be carried out, requiring affected migrants to receive meaningful notice and an opportunity to raise qualifying fears about the proposed destination before removal.
The case could ultimately return to the US Supreme Court as the legal battle over the administration’s third-country deportation policy continues.
