A Biden-appointed federal judge on Wednesday revoked the Trump administration’s policy of deporting illegal immigrants to places other than their country of origin.
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy issued a scathing opinion in DVD v. Department of Homeland Security. He called the administration’s deportation policy “unlawful” and accused the government of providing “false” information in the case.
The judge, of the Massachusetts district, led his opinion with a strong characterization of the question before the court.
“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,” Murphy’s decision says.
If the administration appeals the ruling, it will go to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico. The 1st Circuit has five Democrat appointees and one Republican appointee.
“The Department of Homeland Security has adopted a policy whereby it may take people and drop them off in parts unknown—in so-called ‘third countries,’” Murphy wrote.
He wrote the government’s position is, “that’s fine.” Then he added, “It is not fine, nor is it legal.”
“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.
Murphy wrote that there is little verification of the administration’s assurances that the deported individuals won’t be tortured.
“Why has the government deemed them [the assurances] credible? How can anyone even know for certain that they exist? These are basic questions that the Constitution permits a person to ask before the Government takes away their last and only lifeline,” his ruling says.