A US federal court ruled on Wednesday that the Trump administration’s third-country deportation policy is unlawful because it fails to provide migrants a chance to object or raise safety concerns. 

The case, before the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, came out of a class action lawsuit brought by eight migrants who were removed under the Trump administration’s third-country deportation policy. Migrants left the US with the intended destination of South Sudan, but instead ended up in Djibouti. Neither destination appeared on their removal documents.

In the opinion, Judge Brian Murphy analyzed Congress’s intent in making deportation and immigration policy, writing:

Congress made it “the policy of the United States not to expel, extradite, or otherwise effect the involuntary return of any person to a country” where that “person would be in danger of being subjected to torture.” Congress decided that the Government “may not remove” someone to a country where her “life or freedom would be threatened” on account of her “race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” These are our laws, and it is with profound gratitude for the unbelievable luck of being born in the United States of America that this Court affirms these and our nation’s bedrock principle: that no “person” in this country may be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”

The court ruled that the Trump administration, specifically the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), may not remove migrants to a third-country other than their own. Officials must first attempt to send migrants to the country that appears on their paperwork. Additionally, DHS must give migrants adequate notice and hearing of removal to third-countries.

In April 2025, the Supreme Court removed a preliminary injunction Judge Murphy issued against the administration’s third-country removal policy, allowing the eight men to be removed to Djibouti. The case is expected to return to the Supreme Court, as Judge Murphy allowed the Trump administration 15 days to pursue an appeal, citing the matter’s “importance and unusual history.”