Appeals Court Rejects Trump Third-Country Deportations
Appeals Court Rejects Trump Third-Country Deportations
The News
A federal appeals court on Friday rejected the Trump administration's policy of rapidly deporting migrants to countries other than their own without first letting them raise concerns about their safety, Reuters reported.
The First Circuit largely upheld a lower-court ruling against the third-country deportation policy, holding that the Department of Homeland Security must give noncitizens notice before removing them to a third country, according to The Right Scoop's account of the ruling.
The decision landed the same day Semafor reported that Democrats are preparing a full congressional investigation into the program if they retake power after the midterms.
Timeline
Semafor reports that Democrats are warning the administration's secretive third-country deportation program could face a full congressional investigation if they win back Congress.
The Washington Examiner reports that roughly 23,000 people have been flown to countries where they have no citizenship, family ties or personal connections, and links the expansion to Trump's travel bans.
The New York Times reports that a hotel in Equatorial Guinea has become a prison for U.S. deportees, with witnesses saying men were hooded and beaten there. The Times describes the country's autocratic government as a partner in Trump's deportation program.
The First Circuit rules against the policy. Reuters, Politico and The Right Scoop report the decision.
Reactions
Democrats have signaled the program is a top oversight target. Semafor reported they are warning that the secretive third-country deportations could draw a full congressional investigation if they retake power after the midterms.
On the right, The Right Scoop flagged the decision as a straightforward loss for the president, headlining that the First Circuit "rules AGAINST Trump on deportation policy."
The Washington Examiner framed the third-country strategy as a product of the administration's travel bans, which it reported pushed removals toward countries with no tie to the people being deported.
What's Next
The ruling leaves the lower court's block on the policy largely intact, meaning DHS must provide notice before deporting noncitizens to a third country.
The administration's next move — whether to seek Supreme Court review — has not been announced in the reporting available.
The threatened congressional investigation depends on the midterm results, according to Semafor's reporting.
More
The scale of the program is the part Washington has argued over least and reported on least. The Washington Examiner puts the number of people flown to third countries at approximately 23,000 — people with no citizenship, family ties or personal connections there.
The New York Times' reporting from Equatorial Guinea is the sharpest account yet of what happens after those flights land: a hotel turned into a holding site, and witnesses who say detainees were hooded and beaten.
Poll
Should the government be allowed to deport migrants to countries they have no ties to?
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