Trump's new plan: At 6 hours’ notice, ICE can deport immigrants to third countries, safety not guaranteed

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could deport migrants to countries other than their own with as little as six hours’ notice, according to American media reports citing a new memo from a top Trump administration official.

Usually, ICE waits at least 24 hours after notifying migrants of their deportation to a “third country.” But in “urgent situations,” the agency can now carry out deportations much faster, said the memo dated July 9 from acting ICE director Todd Lyons.

Migrants could be sent to countries that have promised not to persecute or torture them, without needing further legal procedures.

The new policy signals the Trump administration’s intent to speed up deportations to countries around the world.

In June, the US Supreme Court cleared the way for the administration to resume such deportations by lifting a lower court order that had blocked removals without first checking whether migrants feared persecution in the third country.

Following that ruling, ICE deported eight migrants from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Sudan, and Vietnam to South Sudan. Reports say the administration also recently urged officials in five African nations—Liberia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, and Gabon—to accept migrants being deported from other places.

The Trump administration argues that the policy helps quickly remove people who should not be in the US, especially those with criminal records.

However, critics warn that the policy is dangerous and cruel, saying it could send people to countries where they might face violence, lack connections, or not speak the language.

Trina Realmuto, a lawyer representing a migrants’ group challenging third-country deportations in court, said the new policy “falls far short of providing the statutory and due process protections that the law requires.”