A federal judge has placed new limits on the Trump administration’s plans to expedite the deportation of migrants detained at Guantanamo Bay, requiring the government to offer due process before sending them to countries where they may face harm.
In a ruling issued late Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston instructed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to allow detainees to voice concerns about potential risks before being deported to third countries, including El Salvador. The decision came after the administration, under the direction of the Trump administration, flew four Venezuelan migrants from the U.S. naval base in Cuba to El Salvador, disregarding Murphy’s earlier orders designed to safeguard the rights of migrants.
This latest development stems from a series of actions by the Trump administration, which has been housing detained migrants at Guantanamo Bay, previously a notorious detention site for terrorism suspects. In March, Judge Murphy had issued a temporary restraining order, later extended to an injunction, which forbids DHS from swiftly deporting migrants without allowing them to present their case. He ordered that the government ensure these individuals are not sent to places where they may face torture or persecution.
The Trump administration, however, argued that the order only applied to DHS, which oversees immigration enforcement, not to the Department of Defense, which handled the recent deportations of the Venezuelans. The Department of Justice claimed that three of the deported migrants were allegedly linked to the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua and insisted that the Defense Department acted without DHS’s involvement.
Despite these claims, Murphy’s ruling focused on the broader issue of migrant rights and the need for due process. He clarified that before any further deportations occur from Guantanamo Bay to countries other than the detainees’ home nations, the government must comply with the injunction, ensuring that detainees are not deprived of their legal rights.
The ruling marks a significant victory for immigrant rights advocates, with Trina Realmuto, a lawyer representing the detainees, calling it “a positive step toward preventing DHS from using Guantanamo Bay and the Department of Defense to carry out third-country deportations without due process.”
The U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
