A newly appointed judge at the Boston District Court in Massachusetts has dealt another legal setback to the Trump administration.
In a ruling issued on April 18, 2025, Judge Brian Murphy ordered federal authorities to stop the practice of deporting immigrants to countries other than their homeland without allowing them to voice their safety concerns.
According to a report by Peter Charalambous and Armando Garcia for ABC News, the temporary injunction now prohibits any deportation to a destination not explicitly specified in the removal order, “without giving the individual the opportunity to alert authorities that they face ‘persecution, torture or death’ in that third country.”
“The defendants claim that the United States can send a deportable alien to a country that is not their own, (…) where they could face immediate torture and death, without granting them any chance to speak,” notes Judge Murphy, adding: “The nine Supreme Court justices, the Deputy Solicitor General, Congress, basic logic, fundamental humanity and this court are unanimously opposed.”
This suspension comes shortly after the Trump administration used the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan citizens to the CECOT prison in El Salvador, without prior procedure or hearing.
Judge Murphy emphasizes that this practice, if continued, would cause “irreversible harm” to affected individuals and compromise “essential principles of justice,” according to ABC News.
The order now requires that each non-citizen receive written notification of their deportation to a third country, with a minimum 15-day period to review their case and present their concerns. It covers not only the plaintiffs but also any immigrant with a final deportation order, thanks to the certification of a class action.
