DHS Third‑Country Deportation Orders Leave 13,000 Asylum Seekers in Legal and Work-Authorization Limbo
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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.