The Trump administration’s latest policy of deporting immigrants to “third countries” to which they have no ties is unlawful and must be set aside, a federal judge ruled Wednesday in a case that already reached the nation’s highest court. US District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Massachusetts agreed to suspend his decision for 15 days, giving the government time to appeal his latest ruling in the case. The policy “extinguishes valid challenges to third-country removal by effecting removal before those challenges can be raised,” the judge concluded. DHS issued its new policy guidance for third-country removals on March 30, two days after Murphy’s order. Murphy said the DHS third-country removal policy has targeted immigrants who were granted protection from being sent back to their home countries, where they feared being tortured or persecuted in other ways.

Source: CNN February 26, 2026 09:06 UTC