The Trump administration scrambled on Thursday to halt a number of imminent deportations after an appeals court blocked authorities from expelling people to third countries without a chance to contest their cases, according to documents obtained by The New York Times.
The First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled late Wednesday that starting immediately, migrants need “a meaningful opportunity” to present evidence that they fear deportation to a third country.
Previously, the government had concluded that it could deport the people without such an opportunity by gaining assurances from the nation taking in the migrants that they would not be persecuted or tortured there. This legal interpretation has allowed the administration to sidestep certain processes, such as the fear screening, and rapidly expel people.
The third-country deportation program has been used by the Trump administration to get around rules barring certain people from being deported to their home countries. James Percival, the top lawyer at the Department of Homeland Security, said this week that more than 25,000 people had been deported to third countries.
The program has drawn criticism because many immigrants have been sent to countries with records of human rights violations.
The court decision adds a new burden for the government as it attempts to rapidly remove people from the United States without allowing their lawyers to try to block their deportation.
On Thursday, as news of the ruling spread inside the U.S. government, officials quickly moved to take deportees off flights to third countries such as Costa Rica, Honduras, and the Central African Republic, according to documents obtained by The Times.
The U.S. government has concluded that it cannot move forward — for the time being — with rapid deportations by simply relying on the diplomatic assurances, according to the documents.
Trump administration officials said they would immediately appeal the order.
“Without even allowing the government a chance to respond, and in the dark of night, a federal appeals court blocked us from conducting all third-country removals of illegal aliens, an entirely legal and invaluable tool to stem the tide of illegal immigration,” Todd Blanche, the attorney general, said. “We will immediately seek relief from the Supreme Court, which previously granted a stay in this very same case.”
Mattathias Schwartz contributed reporting.
The post Trump Administration Scrambles to Stop Third-Country Deportations After Court Ruling appeared first on New York Times.
