The Trump administration’s attempt to reinstate a policy allowing rapid deportations of migrants to countries other than their own—without first hearing their safety concerns—was rejected Friday by a federal appeals court.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston declined to pause a lower court’s injunction that blocks the policy, which could have sent migrants to nations such as Libya and El Salvador.
The injunction ensures migrants have a chance to raise fears of persecution, torture, or death if deported to countries not included in their original immigration proceedings.
The U.S. Department of Justice argued the nationwide injunction, issued by U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy on April 18, has stalled thousands of pending deportations and hindered then-President Donald Trump’s ability to broker migrant transfer agreements with third countries.
Judge Murphy, appointed by President Joe Biden, had initially issued a temporary block on the administration’s fast-track deportation plan, noting that some migrants may have legal protections preventing their removal to their home countries.
In its ruling Friday, the three-judge panel expressed concerns over new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) guidance governing these deportations, as well as the “irreparable harm that will result from wrongful removals.”
Trina Realmuto, an attorney with the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, which represents the group of affected migrants, welcomed the decision, calling it a vital safeguard.
“These protections are especially important given that just last week, the government was actively seeking to deport people to Libya,” Realmuto said in a statement.
Officials from the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice have not yet responded to requests for comment.
In February, DHS instructed immigration officers to review cases of individuals protected from deportation to their home countries, to assess whether they could instead be detained and removed to third countries.
That move prompted a legal challenge from immigrant rights groups, who sued to prevent the swift deportation of migrants to newly designated countries.
Judge Murphy sided with the plaintiffs, ruling that the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment guarantees them the right to due process before being removed to potentially dangerous destinations.
He later expanded the scope of his injunction to prevent DHS from transferring control of migrants to other federal agencies for deportation—after the administration argued that the Department of Defense was not bound by his order.
The administration made that claim after acknowledging that four Venezuelan migrants held at Guantanamo Bay had been flown to El Salvador by the Defense Department following Murphy’s initial ruling.
After Reuters reported that the U.S. military was preparing to deport a group of migrants to Libya for the first time, Judge Murphy issued a new order stating that such removals would “clearly violate” his injunction.
