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A federal judge issued a temporary emergency order Friday halting a key part of the Trump administration’s aggressive mass deportation campaign, ruling that individuals facing removal must be given a “meaningful opportunity” to seek humanitarian protection before being deported to a country that is not their own.
The order, from U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy, came amid growing concerns over the administration’s escalating immigration enforcement strategy, which includes deporting migrants to third countries without hearings or proper legal notice. The ruling is the third significant legal setback for the Trump administration’s immigration agenda in less than two weeks.
In his decision, Judge Murphy stated that U.S. immigration officials must provide written notice to individuals and their attorneys about the destination country and allow them to file for protection under the Convention Against Torture, which bars the U.S. from deporting individuals to countries where they may face torture.
“Officials may not deport someone to a third country unless and until they are informed and allowed to apply for protection,” Murphy wrote.
The decision comes as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem has vowed sweeping deportations, recently threatening to send undocumented individuals to El Salvador’s prison system. The administration has used the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to justify some of the removals, drawing fierce criticism from immigrant advocates and legal experts.
Trina Realmuto, executive director of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance and lead attorney on the case, called the ruling a “lifeline.”
“Our organizations have been inundated with calls from terrified families,” Realmuto said. “They just want the chance to say, ‘I’m afraid. Please let me apply for protection.’”
The ruling was prompted by a lawsuit filed Sunday, citing the case of a Guatemalan man deported to Mexico despite a judge’s prior order blocking his removal to Guatemala. The man, who said he was raped in Mexico, was ultimately returned to Guatemala and remains in hiding.
Though the ruling doesn’t apply to those removed under the Alien Enemies Act—like the 137 suspected gang members deported to El Salvador on March 15—it offers critical protections for others. Among them were 101 Venezuelans deported through standard immigration procedures, who now may be shielded from sudden removal.
The White House and Department of Justice appealed Murphy’s ruling Friday and had no further comment. However, the decision has been lauded by immigration advocates as a reaffirmation of U.S. commitments to international human rights laws.
“To our nation’s great moral credit, we don’t send people to places where they will be tortured—no matter how repugnant their crimes,” wrote a retired immigration judge, reflecting on the rare but critical nature of such cases.
Meanwhile, tensions continue to mount as the administration’s actions face increasing legal scrutiny. A separate appeals court recently upheld a ruling blocking deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. One judge noted in a hearing that even “Nazis got better treatment” during World War II than migrants now facing deportation under the centuries-old law.
The Trump administration has appealed that case to the Supreme Court.
