US appeals court puts brakes on third-country deportations

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US President Donald Trump speaks after signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 7, 2026. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)

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A US federal appeals court on Friday broadly upheld a lower court ruling restricting a Trump administration policy of deporting undocumented migrants to countries that are not their own.

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The three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit said people facing “third-country” deportations must be given effective notice ahead of time about where they are being sent to allow them to raise concerns about potential persecution.

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Congress has made it US policy not to deport people to countries where their lives would be in danger or they could be subject to torture.

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“An individual’s right to contest removal to a country based on a fear of persecution in that country means little if one does not receive prior notice of the intended removal destination and a meaningful opportunity to contest that destination,” said Judge Seth Aframe, writing for the unanimous three-judge panel.

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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy “would deny access to that protection to a substantial swath of noncitizens who are sent to third countries with no notice of their destination,” the judge said.

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The Trump administration is expected to appeal the case to the conservative-dominated Supreme Court.

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Donald Trump campaigned for president promising to expel millions of undocumented migrants from the United States and has taken a number of actions aimed at speeding up deportations since returning to the White House.

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The Trump administration has defended third-country deportations as necessary since the home nations of some of those who are targeted for removal sometimes refuse to accept them.

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