Third-Country Deportation Policy struck down by Appeals Court

First Circuit strikes down DHS third-country deportation policy, demands notice for immigrants

Immigrants, a.k.a. Illegals, have rights?

A unanimous federal appeals panel ruled Friday that the Department of Homeland Security cannot deport immigrants to countries where they have no ties without first giving them notice and a real chance to object, a decision that hands open-borders advocates a procedural win while leaving the underlying enforcement authority intact.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit struck down a DHS policy that allowed the government to move quickly when sending immigrants to nations other than their home countries.

The three-judge panel, in an opinion written by Circuit Judge Seth Robert Aframe, (appointed by Joe Biden) held that deportees must know where they are being sent before the plane takes off, and must have a meaningful opportunity to argue against that destination.

The ruling lands squarely on the administration's expanding use of third-country deportation deals, which now number 35 nations, including the Central African Republic, Liberia, Ghana, and Sierra Leone.

DHS had relied on what it called "diplomatic assurances" from receiving governments that deportees would not be mistreated. The court found that those assurances, standing alone, did not satisfy the requirement that individuals be able to challenge a removal destination based on fear of persecution.

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