A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration’s policy to quickly remove people to a third country to which they have no previous connection is illegal and that individuals must receive meaningful notice and a chance to challenge their deportations.

“This case is about whether the Government may, without notice, deport a person to the wrong country, or a country where he is likely to be persecuted, or tortured, thereby depriving that person of the opportunity to seek protections to which he would be undisputedly entitled,” U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy wrote in what will likely be his final ruling on the merits of the case.

The case originated after eight migrants were removed from the United States, with the intended destination of South Sudan in March of 2025, but were instead rerouted to Djibouti. The eight migrants did not have South Sudan or Djibouti as the listed country on their final order of removal paperwork, and a lawsuit was filed on their behalf by immigration advocates in an attempt to get them back to the United States for due process.

Murphy said the federal government may not remove individuals with a final order of removal to a third country that is other than their own. Instead, the government must first try to send the person to the country of removal listed on their paperwork. A “final order of removal,” which orders a non-citizen’s deportation, is issued by an immigration judge. The individual is then able to appeal that judge’s decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals within 30 days of the ruling.

The judge also ordered the Trump administration to provide “meaningful notice” before any removal to a third country, to allow people due process and time to challenge their removal.

Last year, the Supreme Court paused an order by Murphy that had temporarily blocked the administration from sending noncitizens to third countries unless they were first able to have a “meaningful opportunity” to bring claims that they would be at risk of torture, persecution or death.

In the order struck down by the Supreme Court, Murphy had suggested 15 days would be a sufficient amount of time to allow for challenges to be filed. The Supreme Court did not weigh in on this particular issue.

“Congress made it ‘the policy of the United States not to expel, extradite, or otherwise effect the involuntary return of any person to a country’ where that ‘person would be in danger of being subjected to torture,’” Murphy wrote in his ruling Wednesday, referring to the Immigration and Nationality Act and Convention Against Torture. “Congress decided that the Government ‘may not remove’ someone to a country where her ‘life or freedom would be threatened.’”

Murphy said in May that the administration had failed to adhere to an injunction he issued in March that prevented people from being sent to countries other than their own without opportunities to raise fears of persecution or torture.

The Supreme Court then paved the way for the Department of Homeland Security to resume swift deportation of migrants to third countries last year.

The White House defended its actions after it sent the eight men to South Sudan in March of 2025.

“The Trump Administration removed dangerous criminal illegal aliens from America in full compliance with all court orders,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement in May. “We are confident in the legality of our actions and do not apologize for acting to protect the American people.”

In a filing at the Supreme Court, the Trump administration said at the time it had received assurances from South Sudan that the eight men would “not be subject to torture” under the United Nations Convention Against Torture.

After the Supreme Court ruling, Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued guidance in July that its employees were allowed in certain circumstances to deport migrants to countries that were not their own in as little as six hours — and without assurances from the third countries that they “will not be persecuted or tortured.”

In other cases, according to that guidance, ICE must serve the immigrant with a notice of removal that lists what country the federal government intends to deport the person to in a language that the immigrant understands.

ICE officers will not affirmatively ask whether the person is afraid of being sent to that country, according to the memo, but those who voice such a fear will be referred for screening for possible protection within 24 hours. ICE could still attempt to send the person to a different country other than the one the detainee was fearful of being sent to.

Murphy on Wednesday paused his ruling for 15 days to allow time for the Trump administration to appeal.

Murphy’s ruling applies to individuals who had a final removal order and who have been, or may be, deported to a third country to which they have no connection and is not listed as their destination on their final order of removal on or after February 18, 2025.