Immigration Article of the Day: Third Country Removals and Counterfeit Due Process in Immigration Enforcement by Matthew Boaz

Third Country Removals and Counterfeit Due Process in Immigration Enforcement by Matthew Boaz

Abstract

In the United States, the federal government is pursuing colossal deportation goals through novel mechanisms that include rapid expulsions, asylum pretermission, and chain refoulement. These unruly innovations, known collectively as third country removals, send individuals to nations with which they have no connection, a process known as third country removal. Some of these efforts may be lawful, but many are not. The lack of transparency about the terms of U.S. agreements with receiving nations, the process to which the U.S. government must adhere in removing noncitizens, and even who might be subject to these removals is troubling. Whether a means of intimidation or simply a desperate and misguided effort to meet draconian and unrealistic deportation goals, there are major due process concerns with the programs as implemented. Legal and non-legal actors have managed to intervene, but more substantive and comprehensive systemic changes are needed to protect the rights of noncitizens and citizens alike.