US appeals court rejects Trump policy allowing rapid deportations to third countries

On Friday, September 18, 2026, a US federal appeals court in Boston rejected a Trump administration policy that allowed rapid deportations of migrants to third countries without giving them a chance to raise safety concerns. The three-judge panel of the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's decision that the policy was unlawful. The policy, adopted in March 2025, had allowed authorities to deport migrants to countries they had no connection to, often with as little as six hours of notice. The case is likely to be appealed to the US Supreme Court.