A US federal appeals court ruled on Friday local time that the Trump administration's policy of deporting immigrants to third countries is illegal. The ruling may put an end to a project that has already deported thousands of people to countries other than their origin. Three judges of the US First Circuit Court of Appeals formed a full panel to support the ruling handed down by lower court judges in February this year: the Department of Homeland Security's policy infringes on due process rights, does not provide sufficient notice to immigrants, and does not give them an opportunity to file fear-based claims and defend decisions to be deported to a third country. This appellate court ruling is a major setback for the Trump administration. The administration has been trying to make the third-country repatriation system a central part of Trump's large-scale expulsion of immigrants. Public records show that since Trump took office last year, the Department of Homeland Security has deported more than 25,000 immigrants to third countries, mostly in Latin America and Africa.

A US federal appeals court ruled on Friday local time that the Trump administration's policy of deporting immigrants to third countries is illegal. The ruling may put an end to a project that has already deported thousands of people to countries other than their origin. Three judges of the US First Circuit Court of Appeals formed a full panel to support the ruling handed down by lower court judges in February this year: the Department of Homeland Security's policy infringes on due process rights, does not provide sufficient notice to immigrants, and does not give them an opportunity to file fear-based claims and defend decisions to be deported to a third country. This appellate court ruling is a major setback for the Trump administration. The administration has been trying to make the third-country repatriation system a central part of Trump's large-scale expulsion of immigrants. Public records show that since Trump took office last year, the Department of Homeland Security has deported more than 25,000 immigrants to third countries, mostly in Latin America and Africa.