Judge Brian E. Murphy of the Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that the Trump-era policy permitting deportations to nations other than an immigrant’s home country is unlawful. According to Murphy, federal authorities must instead attempt removal to the immigrant’s country of origin or another nation approved by an immigration judge.

“It is not fine, nor is it legal,” Murphy wrote in his 81-page ruling, emphasizing that the policy failed to meet constitutional due process requirements. The judge highlighted uncertainties surrounding the so-called “assurances” used to justify deportations, questioning their scope, credibility, and applicability.

Murphy stressed that illegal immigrants must receive “meaningful notice” before removal to third countries so they can raise concerns about potential persecution or torture. “The simple reality is that nobody knows the merits of any individual class member’s claim because Defendants are withholding the predicate fact: the country of removal,” he wrote.

The ruling temporarily blocks deportations to countries like Eswatini, Rwanda, Ghana, El Salvador, and South Sudan, though expedited removal cases are exempted. The federal government has 15 days to appeal.

Previously, the Supreme Court had overturned Murphy’s earlier order preventing third-country deportations, allowing a group of eight immigrants with criminal convictions to be sent to South Sudan despite holding no citizenship there.