The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled on Friday that the Trump administration must give immigrants facing deportation to third countries more due process—"a meaningful opportunity" to raise fears of persecution or torture. In a 55-page opinion with no dissent, a three-judge panel rejected the administration's argument that assurances from foreign governments suffice. The policy "conflicts" with laws protecting detainees from torture, the judges said, rejecting the Homeland Security Department's attempt to carve out an exception "from whole cloth."

The ruling imposes a substantial hurdle on Trump's third-country deportation program, which has sent migrants to South Sudan, Liberia, and Equatorial Guinea. The appeals panel temporarily blocked Judge Brian E. Murphy's ruling in March; Friday's order lifts that block. The administration can appeal to a larger First Circuit panel or the Supreme Court.

Judge Seth R. Aframe wrote the unanimous opinion, joined by Judges Jeffrey R. Howard and Lara E. Montecalvo. Trina Realmuto, a lawyer for the migrants, called it "a major victory for the basic principle that the government cannot deport people to an unknown country without first telling them where they are being sent and giving them a meaningful opportunity to explain why they would face persecution or torture there."