by A new memo from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reveals that migrants may be deported to third countries with as little as six hours’ notice, a dramatic shift that could accelerate deportation operations under President Donald Trump’s administration.
According to the July 9 memo by acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, the agency will generally provide 24 hours’ notice before deporting a migrant to a country that is not their home nation. However, in “exigent circumstances,” ICE may proceed with just six hours’ warning, so long as the migrant has been given the opportunity to consult with an attorney.
The policy applies to migrants being removed to countries that have agreed not to persecute or torture deportees, and it bypasses further legal procedures that would normally apply in deportation cases.
Key Details:
- Policy Date: July 9, 2025
- Authority: ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons
- Notice Period:
- Standard: 24 hours’ notice
- Exigent cases: 6 hours’ notice (with attorney access)
- Destination: “Third countries” that pledged non-persecution
- Legal Backing:
- Supreme Court ruling in June lifted restrictions on third-country deportations
- New policy filed as evidence in an ongoing class-action lawsuit
Background and Reactions:
- The Supreme Court recently removed legal barriers preventing deportations without prior screenings for fear of persecution in the receiving nation.
- Following that decision, the administration deported eight migrants from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Sudan, and Vietnam to South Sudan.
- U.S. officials also pressed Liberia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, and Gabon to accept deportees from other countries, per Reuters.
Advocates and Critics Respond:
Critics say the policy could place migrants at severe risk, sending them to unfamiliar and potentially unsafe countries.
“It falls far short of providing the statutory and due process protections that the law requires,” said Trina Realmuto, attorney with the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, who is representing a group of migrants in a lawsuit challenging rapid third-country deportations.
The ICE memo was introduced as evidence in a legal case concerning Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident allegedly wrongfully deported to El Salvador.
Broader Implications:
This policy revives and expands the Trump-era use of third-country deportations, which were limited during his first term to small numbers of cases involving deportations from El Salvador and Honduras to Guatemala. The current administration seeks to significantly increase deportations, targeting even migrants from non-neighboring countries.
By contrast, President Joe Biden’s administration had relied on regional agreements, such as with Mexico, to take in deportees from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, due to challenges in repatriating them directly.
The rapid deportation policy could become a key feature of Trump’s immigration strategy, aimed at achieving record-level removals from U.S. soil.
