Appeals Court Rules Trump's Third-Country Deportation Policy Unlawful

A three-judge panel of the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on September 18, 2026 that the Trump administration's policy of rapidly deporting migrants to countries other than their own is unlawful, largely upholding a February 2026 decision by U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy. Circuit Judge Seth Aframe wrote that migrants must get a "meaningful" chance to raise safety concerns before being sent to a third country. Adopted in March 2025, the policy has sent more than 25,000 migrants to at least 29 third countries, most often Mexico, but also South Sudan, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia and the Central African Republic.

The ruling tests what due-process protections the government must provide before removing people to countries with no connection to their case, in a class-action suit widely expected to reach the Supreme Court, which has twice already let the administration proceed with such deportations while the case was pending.

DHS General Counsel James Percival said the policy remains in force because the ruling is not yet in effect, and the administration is expected to appeal.