US judge temporarily blocks deportations to third countries without appeal

US District Judge ruled that people with final orders of removal must have a meaningful opportunity to argue that being sent to a third country presents a level of danger deemed worthy of protection

A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration Friday from deporting people who have exhausted legal appeals to countries other than their own without first being allowed to argue that it would jeopardise their safety.

US District Judge Brian E Murphy ruled that people with final orders of removal must have a meaningful opportunity to argue that being sent to a third country presents a level of danger deemed worthy of protection. His order remains in effect until the case advances to the next stage of arguments.

The decision is a setback for an administration that has sent people to countries including Panama, Costa Rica and El Salvador when it is difficult to deport them to their homelands. In some cases a judge may determine that a person's homeland is too dangerous but authorities can send them to a third country.

The Homeland Security Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but administration attorneys argued that a temporary halt would interfere with immigration enforcement.

Murphy, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, sided with advocacy groups including the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, which sued Sunday in Boston on behalf of people who were transferred to third countries or feared they would be soon.

One plaintiff, identified only by initials in court filings, is a Guatemalan man who was sent to Mexico, where he says he was previously raped. A US immigration judge determined that it was unsafe for him to go to Guatemala, but the man did not have a chance to argue against being sent to Mexico. The man is hiding in Guatemala.

An immigration judge ruled that another plaintiff could not be returned to Honduras, but she fears she will be sent to a third country when she appears for a mandatory check-in next week at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices in Dallas.