A federal appeals court has rejected a Trump administration deportation policy that allowed migrants to be quickly sent to countries other than their own without a meaningful opportunity to raise concerns that they could face persecution or torture.
A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday largely upheld an earlier ruling finding the Department of Homeland Security policy unlawful.
The case centers on migrants who have been ordered removed from the United States but cannot be returned to their home countries because they have received legal protections based on safety concerns.
Under the administration’s policy, some migrants could instead be sent to third countries with which they had little or no connection.
Attorneys challenging the policy argued that migrants must be given a meaningful opportunity to object if they believe they would face danger in the country selected for removal.
The dispute has become a major test of how much due process the federal government must provide before carrying out third-country deportations.
More than 25,000 migrants have been affected by the administration’s third-country deportation efforts, according to Reuters.
The administration has defended the policy as part of its broader effort to increase deportations.
The legal dispute could ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
