Original Date Announced

Section 8 of Presidential EO "Securing Our Borders" directs the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, to take all appropriate action to facilitate additional international cooperation agreements to deter and prevent illegal entry of noncitizens into the U.S., including by entering into Safe Third Country Agreements under section 208(a)(2)(A) of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1158(a)(2)(A)) or any other applicable provision of law.

Trump 2.0 [ID #1384]

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.01.27 Reported: Trump eyes asylum agreement with El Salvador to deport migrants there - CBS

CBS news reports the Trump administration is pursuing a "Safe Third Country" agreement with El Salvador to allow the deportation of deport non-Salvadoran migrants there and block their ability to seek asylum in the U.S. This plan would revive a previous Trump 1.0 administration agreement that was never implemented and aligns with the current administration's broader efforts to restrict immigration. The partnership with El Salvador is also tied to addressing transnational gangs like Tren de Aragua, and President Nayib Bukele’s government is seen as a key ally due to its anti-gang policies.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.02.03 Secretary Rubio’s Meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele - US Department of State

According to a State Department press release, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on February 3rd. The release notes that "multiple agreements were struck to fight the waves of illegal mass migration currently destabilizing the entire region" and that President Bukele promised to accept and incarcerate U.S. deportations of "criminal illegal migrants from any country," including members of the Venezuelan gang Tren De Aragua. El Salvadoran President also offered to incarcerate "dangerous American criminals, including U.S. citizens and legal residents."

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.02.05 Reported: Guatemala strikes deal with Rubio to accept migrants from other countries - ABC

According to reporting, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo agreed to accept migrants from other countries being removed from the U.S. Under this "Safe Third Country" agreement, the U.S. would then fund the further removal of these migrants to their home countries.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.02.13 Reported: U.S. Deports Migrants From Asia to Panama - NYT

According to the NYT, the Trump Administration removed 119 migrants to Panama on a U.S. Air Force flight. The migrants originated "from countries such as Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and Uzbekistan . . . [nations to which it] is often difficult for the United States to return migrants. . . " President José Raúl Mulino of Panama stated that the migrants "were being housed in a local hotel and would be moved to a shelter in Darién." They will then be repatriated - a process that, according to Mr. Mulino, will be funded by the U.S. and managed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). This removal arrangement with Panama will allow "for more rapid removal of migrants whose home countries are reluctant to accept them."

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.02.17 Reported: Costa Rica to Receive 200 Deported Migrants From U.S. - NYT

The New York Times reports Costa Rica announced it would receive a deportation flight this week from the United States carrying 200 migrants from Central Asia and India. Like Panama, Costa Rica says its territory will “serve as a bridge” for the migrants’ return to their countries of origin, and that the repatriation process would be “fully funded by the U.S. government, under the supervision of the International Organization for Migration.”

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.03.01 Reported: Lawsuit Against Panama Challenges Detention of Trump Deportees - NYT

NYT reports that a group of lawyers filed a suit against Panama before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights over the country's detention of people deported from the United States. The lawsuit's plaintiffs are 10 Iranian Christian converts and 102 migrants "detained at a camp near a jungle in Panama." The suit, which was only filed against Panama, alleges that the United States violated the plaintiffs' right to asylum on the basis of religious persecution and "that Panama has violated domestic and international laws" by detaining these individuals.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.03.23 Complaint - D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Four individuals with final removal orders filed a national class action in the District of Massachusetts challenging DHS’s policy of deporting noncitizens to third countries without notice and an opportunity to raise fear-based claims. The lawsuit claims that an email directive sent by ICE on February 18 "magnified the practical impact" of DHS's new policy of removing noncitizens to third countries by "instruct[ing] DHS officers to review all cases of individuals previously released from immigration detention – including those who have complied with the terms of their release for years, even decades – for re-detention and removal to a third country."

Plaintiffs argue this violates "basic procedural protections" and denies noncitizens the "opportunity to present a fear-based claim." Moreover, plaintiffs claim the policy puts lives at risk, pointing to cases like O.C.G., who was deported to Mexico despite evidence of previous persecution. The lawsuit seeks to block DHS from carrying out these removals without basic procedural safeguards. D.V.D. v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., No. 1:25-cv-10676 (D. Mass.).

**Link to case here. Our litigation entries generally report only the initial complaint and any major substantive filings or decisions. For additional information, CourtListener provides access to PACER and all available pleadings. Other sites that track litigation in more detail or organize cases by topic include Civil Rights Clearinghouse, Justice Action Center, National Immigration Litigation Alliance, and Just Security**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.03.28 Temporary Restraining Order - D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security

District court judge Brian E. Murphy granted a temporary restraining order barring the Trump administration from deporting any person to a country they are not a national of without written notice and a "meaningful opportunity" to apply for withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture in the United States. D.V.D. v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., No. 1:25-cv-10676 (D. Mass.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.03.30 DHS Guidance Regarding Third Country Removals

Subsequent to the TRO issued in the D.V.D. litigation, DHS Secretary Noem issued guidance on removing noncitizens with a final order of removal to a third country not previously designated as the country of removal. Under the guidance, noncitizens may be removed to a third country "without the need for further procedures" if that country has provided credible "diplomatic assurances" that noncitizens removed there "will not be persecuted or tortured."

Immigration officers are instructed to "inform the alien of removal to that country" and not "affirmatively ask whether the alien is afraid of being removed to that country." Any noncitizen that affirmatively states a fear of removal to a third country without being asked will be referred to USCIS for reasonable fear screening. If USCIS determines that a noncitizen "will more likely than not be persecuted on a statutorily protected ground or tortured in the country of removal," he/she may be referred to the immigration court. If he/she was previously in proceedings before the immigration court, ICE can move to reopen the proceedings, or alternatively, "choose to designate another country for removal."

This memorandum was produced in D.V.D. v. U.S. Dep't. of Homeland Sec., 1:25-cv-10676 (D. Mass.).

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.04.18 Preliminary Injunction - D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security

District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy granted class certification to the plaintiffs and issued a preliminary injunction. The court ordered that before removing any noncitizen to a third country that is not provided for on the noncitizen’s order of removal issued in proceedings under INA Sections 240, 241(a)(5), or 238(b), the government must: (1) provide written notice to the noncitizen (and counsel, if any) of the third country to which the noncitizen may be removed, in a language that the noncitizen can understand; (2) provide meaningful opportunity for the noncitizen to raise a fear of return for eligibility for CAT protections; (3) move to reopen the proceedings if the noncitizen demonstrates “reasonable fear”; and (4) if the noncitizen is not found to have demonstrated “reasonable fear,” provide meaningful opportunity, and a minimum of 15 days, for the noncitizen to seek to move to reopen immigration proceedings to challenge the potential third-country removal. D.V.D. v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., No. 1:25-cv-10676 (D. Mass.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.04.30 Order Amending Preliminary Injunction - D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security

In response to DHS's representation that certain removals to a third country from Guantánamo Bar had been executed by DoD without the direction or knowledge of DHS, Judge Brian E. Murphy amended the April 18, 2025 preliminary injunction issued in D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security that the injunction's due-process protections apply regardless of which agency conducts the removal. The court orders that after DHS takes custody of an individual, it may not cede custody or control in any manner that would prevent the individual from receiving these due process protections. D.V.D. v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., No. 1:25-cv-10676 (D. Mass.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.04.30 Reported: Trump administration discusses deportation agreements with Rwanda and Libya - Washington Post

The Washington Post reports that the Trump administration is in discussions with Rwanda and Libya to negotiate formal agreements for the countries to receive deportees who are not their citizens. According to the article, a Rwandan official expressed the country's willingness to accept such removals; to date, one such individual--Iraqi citizen Omar Abdulsattar Ameen--has been removed from the U.S. to Rwanda.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.05.07 Clarification Order - D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Judge Brian E. Murphy entered an order clarifying that allegedly imminent removals of various noncitizens to third countries, including but not limited to Libya and Saudi Arabia, would be covered by the April 18 preliminary injunction and the April 30 order amending the April 18 preliminary injunction. The court states plainly that such removals would--if news reporting is accurate--clearly violate those orders. D.V.D. v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., No. 1:25-cv-10676 (D. Mass.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.05.07 Reported: Migrants, believed to be destined for Libya, are returned to detention facility - CNN

CNN reports that “[i]n the early morning hours of Wednesday, a group of detained migrants were bused from a facility in Texas to a base where a military aircraft awaited them . . . The military plane that was scheduled to bring migrants to Libya on Wednesday never departed, according to flight trackers and a defense official.”

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.05.16 Defendants Notice of Errata - D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security

DOJ files a Notice of Errata admitting to an error in a declaration filed by Brian Ortega, the Assistant Field Office Director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). Mr. Ortega originally incorrectly asserted that O.C.G. was asked if he feared removal to Mexico and he said he did not. On review, DHS cannot identify the officer who told O.C.G. about removal to Mexico or any officer that inquired about fear. D.V.D. v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., No. 1:25-cv-10676 (D. Mass.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.05.20 Plaintiff's Emergency Motion for TRO and PI on Behalf of Class Members NM and TTP and all Others Similarly Situated - D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Plaintiffs filed an emergency motion requesting a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction "to enjoin . . . Defendants from removing, and if necessary, to order the immediately return [sic] of N.M., T.T.P., and all other similarly situated class members to South Sudan (and any other third country) until Defendants provide the Court and class counsel with evidence that Defendants have complied with all terms of the preliminary injunction." Plaintiffs allege that class members with limited English proficiency were served notices of removal to South Sudan that were written only in English. Plaintiffs refused to sign, but were then removed to South Sudan. When class members' counsel contacted the Port Isabel Detention Center to request to visit with their clients, ICE confirmed that class members had already been removed. D.V.D. v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., No. 1:25-cv-10676 (D. Mass.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.05.21 Memo on Preliminary Injunction - D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security

In response to the D.V.D. plaintiffs' motion for TRO and PI, Judge Murphy initially ordered DHS to "maintain custody and control of class members currently being removed to South Sudan or to any other third country, to ensure the practical feasibility of return if the Court finds that such removals were unlawful."

In the later-issued memorandum order uploaded here, Judge Murphy found that "Defendants violated the Preliminary Injunction entered in this case by failing to provide six non-citizen class members a 'meaningful opportunity' to assert claims for protection under the Convention Against Torture before initiating removal to a third country."

Judge Murphy clarified that the preliminary injunction required that removals of immigrants to third countries "must be preceded by written notice to both the non-citizen and the non-citizen’s counsel in a language the non-citizen can understand," and that DHS must provide individuals "a minimum of ten days, to raise a fear-based claim for CAT protection prior to removal." He further ordered that "no Defendant may avoid their duty to follow the Preliminary Injunction by involving or ceding responsibility to any other person."

In a remedial order associated with the above memorandum order, Judge Murphy ordered DHS to provide six individuals removed to South Sudan in violation of the preliminary injunction access to credible fear interviews with access to counsel "commensurate with the access that they would have received had these procedures occurred within the United States prior to their deportation . . . . Should any individual raise a fear with respect to deportation to the third country that DHS determines falls short of 'reasonable fear,' the individual must be provided meaningful opportunity, and a minimum of 15 days, to seek to move to reopen immigration proceedings to challenge the potential third-country removal." During all such proceedings, the removed individuals must remain within "the custody or control of DHS."

Judge Murphy stated in the remedial order that "[t]he Court cautions Defendants that this remedy should not be construed as setting forth a course of conduct that would constitute compliance with the Preliminary Injunction." D.V.D. v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., No. 1:25-cv-10676 (D. Mass.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.05.22 Reported: Deported migrant detaineees are holding at a US Naval base in Djibouti amid court fight, officials say - CNN

CNN reports that according to two U.S. officials, eight migrant detainees who were on a U.S. flight destined for South Sudan are currently at a U.S. military base in Djibouti. According to the officials, the situation has angered Djiboutian government officials. While one of the U.S. officials confirmed DHS has asked to be able to do the reasonable fear interviews for the detainees at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, attorneys for the detainees had not received instructions how to reach their clients or how the interviews would be conducted as of the morning on May 22.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.05.23 Preliminary Injunction - D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Judge Brian Murphy granted Plaintiff's request for a preliminary injunction, ordering that the Defendants "take all immediate steps, including coordinating with Plaintiff's counsel, to facilitate the return of O.C.G. to the United States." While the Court previously "felt that the possibility that O.C.G. acquiesced to his own third-country removal warranted further factfinding before the Court engage its equitable powers," Defendant's new admission of error in its Notice of Errata "relieves the Court of fear that it might be overextending itself in granting this remedy."

Defendants admit they "cannot identify any officer who asked O.C.G. whether he had a fear of return to Mexico," and the Court concludes that this new admission further emphasizes that it is "clear that O.C.G. did not receive [the due process] the Constitution requires." D.V.D. v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., No. 1:25-cv-10676 (D. Mass.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.05.28 Defendants' Status Report Regarding O.C.G. - D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security

In a status report, the Department of Homeland Security stated that "[ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations] ERO Phoenix is currently working with ICE Air to bring O.C.G. back to the United States on an Air Charter Operations (ACO) flight return leg." D.V.D. v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., No. 1:25-cv-10676 (D. Mass.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.06.05 Reported: DHS returns O.C.G. after court order - The Washington Post

The Washington Post reports that DHS has returned O.C.G., a Guatemalan man who was erroneously deported to Mexico, in response to U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy's May 23, 2025 order. He was brought to California on a commercial flight and immediately taken into ICE custody, according to his lawyers.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.06.23 Order Granting Stay - U.S. Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D.

The Supreme Court stayed the preliminary injunction in D.V.D. v. Department of Homeland Security pending appeal in the First Circuit and the outcome of any timely filed petition for writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court. Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson, dissented, and would have denied the stay. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec. v. D.V.D., No. 24A1153 (U.S.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.06.26 Reported: Constitutional Court of Costa Rica orders Costa Rican government to release Asian migrants deported by Trump - NBC News

NBC News reports the Constitutional Court of Costa Rica ordered the Costa Rican government to release within 15 days the 28 migrants who have remained in detention in its Temporary Migrant Care Center (CATEM) since the Trump administration deported 200 Asian migrants to the country in February. In response to a habeas corpus petition filed against the Costa Rican government by its former minister of communications, the Constitutional Court found that the government violated the migrants’ rights by failing to provide access to counsel or “timely and sufficient information” about their immigration status and the possibility of requesting asylum. The Court noted the government also restricted migrants' contact with the media.

The 28 migrants, including 13 minors, are from Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Iran. The other 172 deported people from the group of 200 have either requested asylum in Costa Rica, left CATEM on their own, or been repatriated to their countries of origin. The government will now have to evaluate the 28 migrants' immigration status "individually" and "based on the law."

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.07.03 Order Clarifying Stay - U.S. Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D.

The Supreme Court clarified that its June 23, 2025 order stayed the district court’s April 18, 2025 preliminary injunction “in full.” As a result, the stay also divests the district court’s May 21, 2025 remedial order--which had enjoined removals to South Sudan--of enforceability. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec. v. D.V.D., No. 24A1153 (U.S.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.07.05 Reported: U.S. completes deportation of 8 men to South Sudan after weeks of legal wrangling - NBC

NBC reports that the United States completed the deportation of eight migrants from D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security to South Sudan.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.07.08 DHS - Agreement between U.S. and Honduras on Asylum Protection Requests

DHS published an agreement with Honduras under which certain non-Honduran migrants who seek asylum or other humanitarian protection in the U.S. may be removed to Honduras to seek protection there. Under the agreement, the United States will determine protection requests for individuals determined by the U.S. to be unaccompanied minors or individuals who arrived in the U.S. with a valid visa or admission document or who were not required to have a visa to enter the U.S. The agreement between the countries was signed in March 2025 and amended in June 2025 to clarify that it will apply retroactively to individuals who seek protection in the U.S. before the date the agreement enters into force, and not just to those who seek protection on or after the agreement goes into effect.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.07.13 Reported: ICE memo outlines plan to deport migrants to countries where they are not citizens - Washington Post

The Washington Post reports that ICE Acting Director Lyons issued a memo to the ICE workforce on July 9, 2025, regarding third-country removals. The memo states that immigrants can be deported with no advance notice to third countries which have offered "diplomatic assurances" that the immigrants will be safe. If ICE is seeking to remove immigrants to countries that have provided no assurances, the immigrants would be informed 24 hours in advance, and in "exigent" circumstances, perhaps as little as 6 hours in advance. The memo clarifies that whether the assurances are deemed credible is up to the discretion of the Department of State.

The memo asserts that the authority for this new policy comes from the Supreme Court's stay of a lower court preliminary injunction in U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec. v. D.V.D., No. 24A1153 (U.S.), which "cleared the way for officers to 'immediately' start sending immigrants to 'alternative' countries." DHS Secretary Noem commented on Fox News that the memo confirms long-standing federal practice and diplomatic protocol, which The Washington Post contests in its reporting.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.07.15 DHS - Agreement Between United States and Guatemala Regarding Transfer of Nationals of Central American Countries to Guatemala

DHS published an agreement between the United States and Guatemala relating to the transfer of nationals of Central American countries to Guatemala, effected by exchange of diplomatic notes on June 11 and June 13, 2025. The agreement states that “the Parties intend to ensure the dignified, safe, and timely transfer of nationals of Central American countries to Guatemala.”

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.07.17 Reported: Men deported by US to Eswatini in Africa will be held in solitary confinement for undetermined time - AP

Associated Press reports that the Trump administration removed five citizens of Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen, and Laos to Eswatini. All 5 are reportedly being held in solitary confinement. According to the Trump administration, the five men "were convicted of serious crimes" in the United States and had been jailed prior to their deportation. The Eswatini government expressed its plan to ultimately repatriate the five to their home countries "with the help of a United Nations agency," and said that they were considered to be "in transit." The Eswatini government also confirmed that the terms of the U.S.-Eswatini agreement "remain classified."