In an unprecedented move, the First Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered the U.S. government to repatriate Bryan Omar Sánchez, a Honduran national who was forcibly deported to the Central African Republic under the Trump administration’s third-country-deportation program. The decision, issued September 18 and reported on September 24, is the first time a federal court has compelled Immigration and Customs Enforcement to return a migrant removed to a country that was never designated in the person’s removal order. The court held that deportations to nations not specified during removal proceedings violate due-process rights when migrants receive no advance notice or opportunity to contest the destination. Judge Regina Rodríguez directed DHS to fly Sánchez back to Colorado, release him unconditionally and refrain from re-detaining him absent clear evidence of flight risk or danger. The ruling casts a legal cloud over the administration’s strategy of negotiating agreements with third-country partners—reportedly 35 across Africa and Latin America—to accept deportees whose home countries refuse re-entry or pose logistical challenges. Human-rights groups tracking the flights estimate more than 23,000 people have been removed under the policy at a cost of $49 million. For global mobility managers, the case is a reminder that corporate foreign nationals detained for status violations could face removal to unexpected destinations, complicating repatriation assistance and duty-of-care obligations. The decision may also spur new litigation from others already deported under the program, potentially crowding immigration courts with return petitions and slowing broader removal operations. Legal analysts expect the government to appeal to the Supreme Court, but in the interim ICE will need to craft new notice procedures before placing migrants on third-country flights—adding operational burden and potential delay to an already backlogged enforcement system.
Source: El País English
