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?
Trump Signs Russia Sanctions Bill, Gains Tariff Powers
Trump: Don Jr. Repaid Russian Oligarch's Wedding Gift
Sep 18, 2026
Trump Claims Permanent US Control Over Greenland Security
Sep 18, 2026
Foreign Hackers Breach Two Colorado Water Systems
Sep 18, 2026
Sheeran Ticket Prices Fall After Macklemore Tour Ouster
Sep 18, 2026
Report: US Iran War Deaths Exceed Pentagon Count
Sep 18, 2026
FAA Clears Trump Arch, Orders Eternal Flame
Sep 18, 2026
Clancy Holdout Juror Hides; Trump Lawyer Steps In
Sep 18, 2026
Trump Extends Medicaid Drug Price Deals Nationwide
Sep 18, 2026
Trump Bans CNN, MSNOW, Politico; Warns More Next
Sep 18, 2026
FBI Cut Canada Police Ties Over 9/11 Wording
Sep 18, 2026
Mullin Defends ICE Arrests, Rips GOP Rep's Claim
Sep 18, 2026
Sweden's Social Democrat Leader Tasked to Form Government
Sep 18, 2026
Border Wall Construction Begins in Big Bend
Sep 18, 2026
Clancy Holdout Juror: 'I Didn't Have Any Doubts'
Sep 18, 2026
Michigan Democrat Rips Vance's 'Fake' Beard, Demands Bench-Off
Sep 18, 2026
Disney Hires Character.AI CEO as First Tech Chief
Sep 18, 2026
Board Asks Court to Block Trump Name Carving
Sep 18, 2026
Tax Returns Undercut Trump's Kennedy Center Money Claims
Sep 18, 2026
Wendy's Franchisee With 300 Stores Files Bankruptcy
Sep 18, 2026
Sep 18, 2026