US appeals court limits Trump administration’s third-country deportations

A US federal appeals court has largely upheld a ruling declaring the Trump administration’s third-country removal policy unlawful, while requiring officials to give migrants a meaningful opportunity to raise safety concerns before deportation.

A three-judge panel of the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston issued the ruling on Friday in a class-action case examining the due process protections owed to migrants sent to countries with which they have no ties.

Court preserves key protection

US Circuit Judge Seth Aframe, writing for the panel, said migrants must be given a meaningful chance to explain why removal could put their safety at risk before they are sent to an unfamiliar country.

The court overturned part of an earlier ruling on procedural grounds. That portion concerned whether US officials must first attempt to deport migrants to countries with which they have existing ties.

The appeals court nevertheless left intact the central finding from a February decision that the Department of Homeland Security’s third-country removal policy was unlawful.

Trina Realmuto, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs at the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, said the decision confirmed that legal safeguards could not be avoided by sending migrants to a country that was not part of their original removal proceedings.

She said due process protections and safeguards established by Congress against persecution and torture could not be circumvented in that way.

Policy and South Sudan removals

The policy was adopted in March 2025. It allowed removals with minimal notice when officials had diplomatic assurances that migrants would not face persecution.

According to Third Country Deportation Watch, a tracker operated by Refugees International and Human Rights First, the United States has reached agreements allowing more than 25,000 migrants to be sent to at least 29 third countries.

The programme has also involved litigation before the US Supreme Court. In 2025, the court cleared the way for eight men, including nationals of Cuba, Myanmar and Vietnam, to be deported to South Sudan. Rights groups said those removals disregarded basic protections.

The Department of Homeland Security described the 2025 deportations of the eight men to South Sudan as “a win”. The US State Department has advised against travel to South Sudan, citing risks including “crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict”.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately comment on the latest appeals court ruling.

Possible Supreme Court appeal

The Trump administration is expected to appeal the decision, which could bring the case before the Supreme Court. The programme has already reached the high court twice.

The ruling comes during a month in which the administration’s immigration agenda has faced other legal challenges, including a federal judge’s decision blocking planned caps on student and journalist visas. Twenty-two states and Washington, DC, have also sued over a separate green-card rule.