A federal judge has mandated that migrants held at Guantanamo Bay must be given the opportunity to raise concerns about their safety before being deported to third countries, including nations other than their countries of origin. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston issued the order in response to concerns that the Trump administration violated an earlier court injunction by transferring four Venezuelan migrants from the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay to El Salvador. The transfer was carried out by the Department of Defense, which the administration argued was not bound by the court’s original order that applied to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Judge Murphy initially issued a temporary restraining order in March of 2025 to prevent rapid deportations without due process. In his latest ruling, Murphy clarified that the injunction applies to any federal agency involved in the deportation process and that DHS cannot bypass legal protections by ceding custody to another department. The judge emphasized that all migrants held at the base must be allowed to raise claims of potential persecution or torture in a third country before removal.
The Department of Justice stated that three of the four Venezuelans transferred were members of the gang Tren de Aragua and claimed the deportations occurred without DHS direction or knowledge. Judge Murphy said he was not yet ruling on whether DHS had violated the order but was updating the injunction out of “an abundance of caution” to close any loopholes.
Immigrant rights groups welcomed the decision. Trina Realmuto of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance described it as a significant move to prevent the use of Guantanamo Bay and interagency coordination to carry out deportations without due process. Meanwhile, other court rulings have found that the administration failed to comply with previous orders regarding the return of migrants deported to El Salvador. Many Venezuelans allegedly affiliated with Tren de Aragua are now being held in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center under a $6 million U.S.-funded agreement with the Salvadoran government.
Reference:
Raymond, Nate. “US judge limits Trump’s ability to swiftly deport migrants held at Guantanamo Bay” Reuters. April 30, 2025.
