US Judge Declares Trump’s Third-Country Deportations Unlawful

US – (Web Desk) – A U.S. federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration’s policy of deporting undocumented migrants to countries other than their own is unlawful.

District Judge Brian Murphy temporarily paused his decision on “third-country deportations” for 15 days, giving the government time to appeal.

“This case asks whether the government can deport someone to the wrong country—or a country where they might face persecution or torture—without giving them notice,” Murphy explained.

The Department of Homeland Security had argued that it is acceptable to send migrants to a third country as long as they are not at risk of being shot upon arrival. Murphy disagreed, saying, “That is neither safe nor legal.”

He emphasized that U.S. law clearly forbids sending people to countries where their lives could be in danger or where they could be tortured. Under the DHS policy, immigration officers can remove individuals to unfamiliar and potentially dangerous countries without warning or giving them a chance to object.

A person may be deported if the government has received “‘assurances’ that no persecution or torture will happen there,” he said.

“This new policy — which purports to stand in for the protections Congress has mandated — fails to satisfy due process for a raft of reasons, not least of which is that nobody really knows anything about these purported ‘assurances,'” Murphy said.

“Whom do they cover? What do they cover? Why has the Government deemed them credible? How can anyone even know for certain that they exist?” he asked.

District Judge James Boasberg just caved to President Trump and said he won’t be stopping deportation flights to El Salvador being flown under the Alien Enemies Act.

District courts can’t dictate foreign police.

That’s what the Supreme Court ruled.

Illegals better self-deport! pic.twitter.com/UBbgNNgQXM

— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) April 19, 2025

Murphy, an appointee of Democratic president Joe Biden, previously sought to block the deportation of a group of migrants to war-torn South Sudan but was overruled by the conservative-dominated Supreme Court.

According to the US authorities, the eight men — two from Myanmar, two from Cuba, and one each from Vietnam, Laos, Mexico and South Sudan — were convicted violent criminals.

The Trump administration has defended third-country deportations as necessary since the home nations of some of those who are targeted for removal sometimes refuse to accept them.

Pakistan to maintain policy if guerrilla mindset persists

Donald Trump campaigned for president promising to expel millions of undocumented migrants from the United States, and he has taken a number of actions aimed at speeding up deportations since returning to the White House.