ICE may deport migrants to 'third country' where they can be tortured

ICE has been authorized to start deporting migrants to a so-called "third country" with just six hours' notice "in exigent circumstances," according to a new directive from a senior Trump administration official.

A "third country" refers to a country to which the individual has no ties, and is a practice the Trump administration is resuming following the Supreme Court's approval of the policy earlier this month, Department of Homeland Security officials confirmed Tuesday.

While the Trump administration has already been sending some migrants to El Salvador, South Africa, and South Sudan, the new memo changes the administrative procedure for the deportations. Whereas ICE had to wait 24 hours and follow some standard procedures designed for safety, the new memo states that they can be deported to these 'third countries' within just six hours.

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They may be deported provided the individual has had an opportunity to consult with legal counsel. The Trump administration has already transported five migrants from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen, and Cuba to Eswatini - a landlocked nation of approximately 6,700 square miles, bordered on three sides by South Africa.

The deportations were revealed on social media by the agency on Tuesday evening. "NEW: a safe third country deportation flight to Eswatini in Southern Africa has landed - This flight took individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back," posted Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokeswoman. She noted that the men had been found guilty of serious offenses including murder, assault, and robbery.

The memo was first brought to light by The Washington Post and made public in court filings on Tuesday. It states: "If the United States has received diplomatic assurances from the country of removal that aliens removed from the United States will not be persecuted or tortured, and if the Department of State believes those assurances to be credible, the alien may be removed without the need for further procedures."

When following standard procedure, ICE must serve the immigrant with a notice of removal in a language they understand, detailing the country to which the U.S. government plans to deport them. ICE agents must also refrain from directly asking if the individual fears being sent to that country and wait at least 24 hours before proceeding with the deportation. However, "in exigent circumstances," Lyons stated, the officer may expedite the deportation process to as little as six hours, provided the individual is "given reasonable means and opportunity to consult with an attorney."

Lyons wrote that “in all other cases” where they did not receive assurances of prisoner safety, then ICE should follow the above procedures.

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said, “The Biden administration dangerously unleashed millions of unvetted illegal aliens into the country — and they used many loopholes to do so," when asked to comment on the memo.

She added that Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem “are now enforcing this law as it was actually written to keep America safe.”

While the Supreme Court did approve the practice, Justice Sonia Sotomayor was against it, writing that it may lead to individuals being 'tortured.'

“What the government wants to do, concretely, is send the eight noncitizens it illegally removed from the United States from Djibouti to South Sudan, where they will be turned over to the local authorities without regard for the likelihood that they will face torture or death,” she wrote.