The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has formally dissolved a stay that permitted the Trump administration to deport migrants to third-party nations. This legal development follows a period of intense dispute over whether the Department of Homeland Security must provide notice to individuals before they are removed to unfamiliar countries.
The attempt to move a Peruvian migrant to Ghana
ICE officials recently attempted to move a Peruvian migrant, known as John Doe, to Ghana. According to The American Prospect, ICE argued this removal was permissible because the First Circuit had not yet formally issued a mandate striking down the policy. this attempt occurred even as the court was preparing to finalize its decision.
The court's brief order on Wednesday clarified that the March 16, 2026, stay is now dissolved, in accordance with the court's September 18, 2026, judgment. As reported by Reuters, the ruling deals a significant blow to the administration's deportation agenda. This mandate effectively ends the period of legal limbo that allowed third-country deportations to continue while the case was being litigated in higher courts.
Judge Aframe’s ruling on notice and due process
First Circuit Judge Seth Aframe issued an opinion supporting the recent actions of U.S. District Court Judge Brian Murphy in Massachusetts. Judge Murphy had required the Department of Homeland Security to allow migrants a meaningful opportunity to raise concerns about the countries to which they might be sent. on Monday, May 26, 2025, Judge Murphy denied a request from DHS to reconsider his order, which called for the administration to take immediate steps to return a Guatemalan deportee to the United States.
Judge Aframe argued that the DHS interpretation would deny essential protections to a substantial swath of noncitizens who are sent to third countries without any prior notice of their destination.. The court found that the lower court's approach to ensuring migrants are notified of their destination was reasonable and necessary to protect due process rights.
A pattern of third-country agreements from Liberia to Central Africa
The administration's use of third-party nations to execute removal orders has become a broader trend in immigration enforcement . For example, Liberia has agreed to accept 1,200 third-country deportees from the U.S. within a single year.. Additionally, the Trump administration is planning to deport Iranians to a Central African nation under a new agreement.
These policies have been consistently challenged by the Biden administration, which contends that such removals violate due process rights. The Biden administration argues that sending individuals to unfamiliar or dangerous countries without their knowledge undermines the legal protections afforded to migrants. This strategy of using international partners to facilitate removals remains a central pillar of the current administration's enforcement goals.
Will DHS challenge the First Circuit's mandate?
Significant questions remain regarding how the Department of Homeland Security will react to this formal mandate. DHS Chief Counsel James Percival has already voiced strong opposition to certain judicial interventions, labeling the actions of a group of federal district judges as "naked political activism." Percival argued that these judges are repeatedly blocking deportations and Temporary Protected Status rollbacks despite existing Supreme Court rulings.
Percival further suggested that the public needs to know which judges are in "open defiance" of the Supreme Court. While the court has cleared the way for Judge Murphy's order to be enforced, the administration has not yet officially stated how it will respond to this latest setback. The tension between the executive branch and the judiciary continues to escalate as the administration seeks to implement these policies despite repeated blocks from lower courts.
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