Biden-Packed Boston Appeals Court Blocks Trump’s Rapid Third-Country Deportations

A three-judge panel of the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday sided with a Biden-appointed district judge and struck down a key Trump administration policy that let Homeland Security rapidly remove illegal aliens to third countries when their home nations refuse to take them back.

The ruling, written by Biden appointee Judge Seth Aframe, largely upheld U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy’s February decision declaring the Department of Homeland Security’s 2025 guidance unlawful.

[snip]

That’s the same Judge Murphy The Gateway Pundit previously reported on when the Supreme Court smacked down his earlier nationwide injunction and allowed the Trump administration to resume third-country removals, including flights to places like South Sudan.

The First Circuit did throw out one piece of Murphy’s order on standing grounds: the demand that DHS first try to send people to countries they have ties to before using a third country. But the core of the policy, the ability to move quickly with diplomatic assurances and short notice, is now blocked unless the government provides more process.

[snip]

Many of these aliens already had final removal orders. Their home countries simply stonewalled. The third-country option was the workaround.

Open-borders lawyers and NGOs immediately celebrated. Trina Realmuto of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance called it a “major victory.” Of course they did. Slowing deportations is the whole point.

The administration can still appeal to the full First Circuit or go straight to the Supreme Court. Given that the high court has already twice intervened in this same case to let third-country removals proceed, that is the obvious next stop.

[snip]

In other words, the court decided the statute requires extra process even when the destination country has given diplomatic assurances and the alien already lost his case.

(*) Full article: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/09/biden-packed-boston-appeals-court-blocks-trumps-rapid/