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Rapid deportations to third countries

A federal judge ruled the administration could not rapidly deport migrants to third countries without a meaningful chance to object.

February 25, 2026 Issue Due process and removals

What happened

A federal judge ruled that the administration’s policy of rapidly deporting migrants to countries other than their own was unlawful because people were not being given a meaningful chance to object or show they could face persecution, torture, or death. Reuters separately reported that an appeals court had expressed unease with the practice, including the possibility of deportations on as little as six hours’ notice.

Why it matters

This matters because due process is one of the core ways democracies limit state power, especially when the government is making life-altering decisions about detention, removal, or exposure to danger. A system that prizes speed and executive convenience over fair notice and a real chance to contest government action moves away from rule-bound governance and toward arbitrary power.

Risk to democracy

The democratic danger is broader than immigration policy alone. If the executive branch can remove people to unfamiliar countries with minimal procedure and weak judicial constraint, it expands the idea that basic legal protections are optional whenever they become politically inconvenient.