Warren, Van Hollen, Ramirez, Carter, Demand Investigation into Trump Admin’s “Unlawful and Costly System” of Third-Country Deportations

Warren, Van Hollen, Ramirez, Carter, Demand Investigation into Trump Admin's "Unlawful and Costly System" of Third-Country Deportations

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), along with Representative Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) and Representative Troy Carter (D-La.), pressed the Inspectors General of the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and State to open an investigation into the Trump administration's attempts to deport people to countries they have no ties to.

"We request that your offices evaluate the Trump Administration's unlawful and costly system of "third-country removals"...Congress and the public deserve answers to better understand the scale of legal violations within this system that was recently ruled unconstitutional," wrote the lawmakers.

Since President Trump took office for a second time, his administration has deported hundreds of people, including children, long-time U.S. residents, and individuals with no criminal records, to countries they are not from and that were not designated for their removal, which U.S. immigration law only allows in rare circumstances. Deportees are being sent to these countries without proper due process, and in some cases without being provided an opportunity to voice concerns that their life or freedom would be in danger in that third country. To persuade countries to accept deportees, the Trump Administration has used a combination of threats and payments, including paying $32 million to El Salvador, Rwanda, Eswatini, Equatorial Guinea, and Palau.

In September 2025, Senator Warren led over 60 members of Congress in launching an investigation into these practices. Despite the serious implications of third-country removals, both State and Homeland Security have failed to comply with the requests made as part of that investigation.

On February 25, 2026, a federal court ruled that this third-country removal system violates the U.S. Constitution and immigration law. Even so, DHS's 2025 guidance regarding third country removals - which do not appear to have been updated since the February 2026 court ruling - claim the Department can deport individuals to third countries with no individualized process whatsoever.

Many people first learn that they are being deported to a third country while on the flight overseas. Even when a country has not credibly promised to refrain from torture or persecution, DHS still generally gives individuals only 24 hours' notice that they will be deported to a particular country, with no guaranteed opportunity to speak with an attorney. To make matters worse, some DHS attorneys have reportedly threatened asylum seekers that they may be deported to third countries in order to pressure them to abandon their asylum claims and accept deportation to their home countries.

Some people deported to third countries have reported torture, arbitrary detention, and forced return to their countries of origin where courts have found they are likely to face persecution, and other human rights violations.

"Such reports cast serious doubt on DoS's process, if one exists, of verifying the reliability of countries' assertions that they will not torture or persecute deportees, or transport them onward to other countries where they're likely to face torture or persecution," wrote the lawmakers.

Meanwhile, the Administration is continuing to execute third-country deportations. As of early March, ICE had over 500 people in its custody slated for third-country deportations, and DHS signaled that it had its sights on deporting over 8,000 people to third countries.

The lawmakers asked that Inspectors General's investigation include the administration's failure to follow due process, negotiations with foreign governments, evaluating the risk of torture and persecution, and the cost of third-country deportations.

Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jackie Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) signed on to this letter.

Representatives Donald Beyer (D-Va.), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Dwight Evans (D-Pa.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Jesús García (D-Ill.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), and Adam Smith (D-Wash.) signed on to this letter.

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