Administration to ask Supreme Court to allow swift deportations to 3rd countries

A federal court ruling blocked the rapid removal of migrants to third countries.

September 24, 2026, 3:09 PM

The Trump administration will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to allow it to continue swiftly deporting immigrants to third countries that are different from their country of origin, Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Thursday.

Blanche's announcement follows a federal appeals court ruling on Wednesday that cleared the way for a lower court decision blocking the rapid removal of migrants to third countries without a "meaningful opportunity" to contest their deportations. 

"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," Blanche wrote Thursday on X. "We will immediately seek relief from the Supreme Court, which previously granted a stay in this very same case."

Attorneys representing people who have been deported to third countries told ABC News that several third-country removal flights that were scheduled for Thursday were canceled. 

Last week, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that immigrants were not receiving adequate notice before being deported to nations where they have no connections.

"An individual's right to contest removal to a country based on a fear of persecution in that country means little if one does not receive prior notice of the intended removal destination and a meaningful opportunity to contest that destination," wrote Circuit Court Judge Seth Aframe.

About 25,000 people have been deported to so-called third countries during the Trump administration's ongoing immigration crackdown, according to the immigrant rights organization Human Rights First.

The Department of Homeland Security's general counsel said on X Wednesday that third-party deportations are an "essential public safety tool" that's utilized in cases where a migrant's country of origin won't accept them; when they cannot remain in the U.S. but also can't go back to their home country; and when there are "logistical problems" associated with removing them to their country of origin.

According to immigration lawyers and advocates, third-country removals are not new, but they are rare. In recent months, the Trump administration has ramped up third-country deportations after creating a web of formal deals with nearly three dozen countries to deport asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants with criminal records with little to no warning.

ABC News previously interviewed a group of Latin American men who were deported to the Central African Republic, which the U.S. has classified as an extreme-risk destination for Americans due to armed conflict, violent crime and the threat of terrorism. The men said they were not informed of their destination until several hours into the flight.

"I feel kidnapped," one of the men, Aristides Fernandez Garcia, said. "They have violated all the rights that exist in life, because we are human beings."