Passim

Issues › Removal

Removals to third countries not named in removal orders

In effect

In effect; Supreme Court review pending

Argument set for December 9, 2026 in DHS v. D.V.D., No. 26-426

On September 29, 2026, the Supreme Court stayed the District of Massachusetts's February 25, 2026 order and judgment in D.V.D., which had set aside DHS's third-country removal guidance and declared that class members are entitled to meaningful notice and a meaningful opportunity to raise country-specific claims first. The stay lasts until the Court sends down its judgment, so no court order currently stops removals under the guidance. The Court granted review and set argument for December 9, 2026.

Status as of
October 31, 2026
Dockets checked
November 3, 2026

The policy

Since early 2025, DHS has removed people with final removal orders to countries other than those designated in their orders, under a March 30, 2025 DHS memorandum ("Guidance Regarding Third Country Removals") and a July 9, 2025 ICE memorandum. A certified class challenges the policy in D.V.D. v. DHS in the District of Massachusetts, arguing that removal without meaningful notice and a chance to raise fear-based claims violates the INA, the Convention Against Torture's implementing law and due process. The district court set the policy aside in February 2026 and the First Circuit largely affirmed, but the Supreme Court stayed that judgment and will hear the case. Individual detainees have also sought stays of particular third-country removals in other circuits.

Court rulings

Rulings on the policy by court. Stay and procedural rulings say what the court did and aren't counted in the circuit row.

  1. 1Against
  2. 2No ruling
  3. 3No ruling
  4. 4No ruling
  5. 5No ruling
  6. 6No ruling
  7. 7No ruling
  8. 8No ruling
  9. 9No ruling
  10. 10No ruling
  11. 11No ruling
  12. DCNo ruling
  • Ruled against the policy
  • Upheld the policy
  • Mixed or split
  • No merits ruling tracked
CourtRulingCaseNote
D. Mass. Ruled against the policy D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland SecurityNo. 1:25-cv-10676 · Feb 25, 2026 Set aside the March and July 2025 guidance; classwide declarations on notice and a chance to raise fear claims. Stayed by the Supreme Court.
1st Cir. Ruled against the policy D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland SecurityNo. 1:25-cv-10676 · Sep 18, 2026 Affirmed except two country-sequencing declarations, vacated for lack of standing. Review granted, No. 26-426.
5th Cir. Emergency stay deniedStay ruling Abasse Gakou v. Warden of the Prairieland Detention CenterNo. 26-10925 · Oct 10, 2026 Published order denying stays of removal to Sierra Leone. The Fifth Circuit held § 1252(g) bars the stay motion and, in its own reading of the Supreme Court's D.V.D. stay, found no likely success. Not a ruling on the guidance.

Who's covered

No order tracked on this page currently gives relief from this policy.

Relief that's stayed

A higher court has stayed these orders, so they give no relief while the stay lasts.

  • Not currently operative. Certified class · D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security

    No currently enforceable relief under this stayed judgment. The D.V.D. class was certified on April 18, 2025. The February 25, 2026 judgment's declarations run to this class, and it set aside the guidance itself; the Supreme Court stayed that judgment on September 29, 2026. The stay doesn't affect other protections a class member may have. The class doesn't include people removed under expedited removal orders (8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)).

    All individuals who have a final removal order issued in proceedings under Section 240, 241(a)(5), or 238(b) of the INA (including withholding-only proceedings) whom DHS has deported or will deport on or after February 18, 2025, to a country (a) not previously designated as the country or alternative country of removal, and (b) not identified in writing in the prior proceedings as a country to which the individual would be removed.

    Certification order

For practitioners

  • The policy at issue is DHS's March 30, 2025 memorandum, "Guidance Regarding Third Country Removals," and ICE's July 9, 2025 memorandum on third-country removals after the Supreme Court's June 23, 2025 stay. The February 25, 2026 judgment declared that policy unlawful and set it aside, and dissolved the April 18, 2025 preliminary injunction. That judgment is now stayed. [1][2]
  • The Supreme Court directed briefing on four questions: whether the district court had jurisdiction; whether 8 U.S.C. § 1252(f)(1) allowed classwide declaratory relief and APA vacatur; whether the guidance is unlawful under 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b), the Due Process Clause, or FARRA/CAT and its regulations; and other questions the government finds appropriate. The government's brief and the joint appendix were filed October 23, 2026. [1][2]
  • Class scope: final orders from INA § 240 proceedings, reinstatement under § 241(a)(5), or administrative removal under § 238(b), including withholding-only proceedings, for people removed on or after February 18, 2025 to a country not designated or identified in writing in their proceedings. The February 2026 opinion notes the class excludes expedited removal orders under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b). [1][2]
  • Two published appellate orders denied individual stays after the Supreme Court's September 29 stay. The Fifth Circuit held in a published order that 8 U.S.C. § 1252(g) barred it from entertaining a motion to stay a third-country removal (Gakou, Oct. 10, 2026). The Sixth Circuit denied an emergency stay of removal to Ghana in a published order, relying on the D.V.D. stay (Ojukwu, No. 26-3891, Oct. 9, 2026). [1][2]
  • Earlier stays: the Supreme Court stayed the April 18, 2025 classwide preliminary injunction on June 23, 2025 (No. 24A1153) and granted the government's motion to clarify on July 3, 2025. The First Circuit stayed the February 2026 judgment pending appeal on March 16, 2026, then decided the appeal on September 18, 2026. [1][2][3]

In plain language

Some people with deportation orders are being sent to countries that aren't named in their orders. These are called third countries. A group of people sued in Massachusetts on behalf of everyone in this situation. They say the government must warn people first and give them a real chance to say they'd be harmed in that country. A judge agreed in February 2026, and an appeals court mostly agreed in September 2026. But on September 29, 2026, the Supreme Court put that ruling on hold. That means the government can keep doing these removals for now. The Supreme Court will hear arguments on December 9, 2026 and decide the case later. If you have a removal order and are worried about being sent to another country, an immigration lawyer can tell you what applies to you.

Find free or low-cost legal help

New on the dockets, not yet reviewed

Court actions picked up from the dockets after the last review. They're quoted as filed and don't change the status until they're checked against the order.

Nothing new since the last review.

How we got here

  1. Government submitted opening merits brief and joint appendix

    D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security · D. Mass. · Source

  2. Fifth Circuit denied administrative and pending-appeal removal stays

    Abasse Gakou v. Warden of the Prairieland Detention Center · 5th Cir. · Source

  3. Supreme Court stayed D.V.D. judgment and granted review

    D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security · D. Mass. · Source

  4. D.V.D. respondents opposed Supreme Court stay request

    D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security · D. Mass. · Source

  5. DHS sought Supreme Court stay after First Circuit ruling

    D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security · D. Mass. · Source

  6. First Circuit largely affirmed third-country-removal notice ruling

    D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security · D. Mass. · Source

  7. First Circuit stayed district court ruling pending appeal

    D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security · D. Mass. · Source

  8. District court held latest third-country-removal policy unlawful

    D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security · D. Mass. · Source

Status changes

Selected changes since June 23, 2025, each with the order behind it.

  • In effect; Supreme Court review pending. After the First Circuit largely affirmed, the Supreme Court stayed the judgment and granted certiorari (No. 26-426). Source
  • First Circuit stayed judgment pending appeal. A divided panel stayed the February 25, 2026 judgment that set aside the guidance. Source
  • Supreme Court stayed classwide injunction. The Court stayed the April 18, 2025 preliminary injunction pending appeal and any certiorari petition (No. 24A1153). Source

Cases (2)

CaseCourtLatestAs of
D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland SecurityNo. 1:25-cv-10676 · Lead case · Class actionD. Mass.Supreme Court stayed D.V.D. judgment and granted reviewOct 23, 2026
Abasse Gakou v. Warden of the Prairieland Detention CenterNo. 26-109255th Cir.Fifth Circuit denied stays of third-country removalOct 10, 2026

In the news

Every status statement on this page links to the order it rests on. Docket entries marked "not yet reviewed" are quoted as filed. How we track litigation