Courts and Immigration Policy

U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy, in an 81‑page opinion, ruled the Trump administration’s "third‑country" deportation policy unconstitutional, finding that DHS must first try removal to a person’s country of origin or to a country designated by an immigration judge and must give detainees meaningful notice before any third‑country transfer so they can raise fears of persecution or torture. Murphy — a Biden appointee who warned DHS cannot “drop them off in parts unknown” and stressed that due‑process protections apply to all persons — stayed the ruling for 15 days to allow the government to appeal to the First Circuit; the decision arose from a class action challenging deportations to countries including South Sudan, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Guatemala and cites other contemplated destinations such as Eswatini, Rwanda, Ghana and Libya.