A federal judge has ruled illegal the policy adopted by the Trump administration to expel immigrants in irregular situations to third countries. Judge Brian Murphy, in charge of the case, has suspended the implementation of his decision for 15 days to allow the administration to appeal. The issue at stake is whether the government can expel a person to the wrong country without notice, where they may be persecuted or tortured.
Judge Murphy had previously blocked the temporary expulsion of Asians to Libya and suspended the expulsion of others to South Sudan, arguing that individuals facing expulsion to a country other than their own must be informed beforehand and given sufficient time to appeal based on the UN Convention against torture.
In a recent ruling, Judge Murphy concluded that the new guidelines issued by the Department of Homeland Security in March regarding expulsions to third countries are illegal. These guidelines allow expulsions on the condition that the receiving country provides assurances that the individuals will not be persecuted or tortured, with no possibility of appeal if the State Department deems these assurances credible.
The Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement program has faced legal challenges, with courts, including the conservative Supreme Court, ruling in favor of individuals’ rights to appeal before being expelled. President Trump’s focus on combating illegal immigration has been met with resistance from the judiciary system, which has repeatedly intervened to protect individuals’ rights in expulsion cases.
