DHS Third‑Country Deportation Orders Leave 13,000 Asylum Seekers in Legal and Work-Authorization Limbo
DHS third‑country deportation orders have left about 13,000 asylum seekers—many living legally in the U.S. with pending asylum claims and work authorization—barred from pursuing their claims in immigration court, stripped of work permits and, in some cases, detained after being ordered to countries to which they have no ties. A mid‑March internal ICE email instructed field attorneys to stop filing new third‑country deportation motions without rescinding existing orders, and advocates say the tactic appears intended to instill fear and pressure migrants to abandon cases and return to their home countries.
📌 Key Facts
- Affected migrants were living legally in the U.S. with pending asylum claims and had work authorization before being hit with third‑country deportation orders.
- Many of those ordered to third countries are now barred from presenting their asylum claims in court, have had their work authorization revoked, and some have been placed in detention, producing a prolonged legal and work‑authorization limbo.
- A mid‑March internal email from top ICE legal officials directed field attorneys to stop filing new third‑country deportation motions in asylum cases; the change was not publicly explained and existing orders were not rescinded.
- Reporting includes specific human examples that illustrate the pattern: an Afghan asylum seeker ordered to Uganda, a Cuban woman in Texas ordered to Ecuador, and a Guatemalan gang‑rape survivor told she could be sent to Ecuador, Honduras or Uganda—cases in which most targets have no ties to the designated countries.
- Advocates, including National Immigration Law Center attorney Cassandra Charles, allege the administration’s goal is to “instill fear,” and say the tactic appears intended to pressure migrants to abandon their asylum cases and return to their home countries.
📊 Relevant Data
The US has announced safe third-country agreements with governments including those of Honduras, Ecuador, and Uganda as of November 2025, which facilitate deportations of asylum seekers to these countries without requiring formal public agreements or ties to the deportees.
What Are Third-Country Removals? Understanding Their Use In Immigration Policy — American Immigration Council
In fiscal year 2025, the most common nationalities among ICE deportees in the US were Mexicans (approximately 45%), followed by Guatemalans (15%) and Hondurans (12%), with third-country removals often targeting asylum seekers from other nationalities like Afghans, Cubans, and Venezuelans who lack ties to the designated countries.
Revoking work authorization for asylum seekers under proposed DHS rules could result in billions in lost tax revenue and increased inflation, with significant impacts on industries reliant on immigrant labor, as asylum seekers with work permits contribute approximately 10% higher wages upon authorization.
Ending Work Authorization for Asylum Seekers Will Cost Billions — FWD.us
Migration from Mauritania to the US has been driven by ethnic tensions and political exclusion affecting Haratin and Afro-Mauritanian communities, who comprise about 40% and 30% of the population respectively, leading to disproportionate migration rates among these groups from 2023-2026.
Ethnic tensions, political exclusion fuel Mauritanian migration to US — The Arab Weekly
Since January 2025, the Trump administration has implemented policy changes expanding third-country removals by using diplomatic assurances instead of formal agreements, allowing deportations to countries without deportee ties and circumventing some asylum processes.
Policy Brief: Modernizing America's Asylum System — American Immigration Lawyers Association
📰 Source Timeline (2)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Confirms that affected migrants were living legally in the U.S. with pending asylum claims and work authorization before being hit with third‑country deportation orders.
- Details that many are now barred from presenting their asylum claims in court and have had their work authorization revoked, with some placed in detention, creating a state of prolonged legal limbo.
- Reveals that a mid‑March internal email from top ICE legal officials directed field attorneys to stop filing new third‑country deportation motions in asylum cases, without publicly explaining the change or rescinding existing orders.
- Provides specific human‑case examples (e.g., an Afghan asylum seeker ordered to Uganda, a Cuban woman in Texas ordered to Ecuador, a Guatemalan gang‑rape survivor told she could be sent to Ecuador, Honduras or Uganda) illustrating that most targets have no ties to the designated countries.
- Quotes National Immigration Law Center attorney Cassandra Charles alleging the administration’s goal is to “instill fear,” and notes advocates’ belief that the tactic pressures migrants to abandon cases and return to their home countries.