The Trump administration’s hardline immigration stance is making a comeback, and this time, it’s moving at lightning speed.
A newly surfaced memo from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), dated July 9th, outlines a policy that could see migrants deported to countries that aren’t even their home nations with as little as six hours’ notice. Under this directive, migrants would typically get 24 hours before removal to a “third country,” but that window can shrink dramatically in emergencies, as long as they’ve had a chance to speak with a lawyer.
The ICE memo, signed by acting director Todd Lyons, states that deportees can be sent to nations that have agreed not to persecute or torture them, without requiring any additional legal review or screening. This aligns with the Supreme Court’s recent decision to lift a previous restriction that required fear-of-persecution screenings before such deportations could proceed.
The fallout was immediate. Shortly after the ruling, eight individuals from countries including Cuba, Mexico, Myanmar, and Vietnam were flown out to South Sudan—a country few of them had ties to. The Trump team is also pushing several African nations, including Liberia and Senegal, to take in more deportees from outside their borders.
For many migrants, the next destination may not just be unexpected, but completely unfamiliar.
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