Key Facts

• The case, Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D., involves people with final removal orders who may be sent to destinations not listed in those orders or previously identified in writing.
• Moussa Diawara, a Malian national granted protection from removal to Mali, was deported to Ghana and said Ghanaian officials sent him to Mali within five days.
• DHS said Ghana had given assurances about Diawara’s safety and said third-country removals may be used when a migrant’s home country will not accept them or a judge has barred return there.
• Federal law lists possible destinations for people with final removal orders and includes additional options, such as a country willing to accept them, when earlier options are unavailable.
• Federal protections prohibit removal when a person meets the legal standard for fear of persecution or torture in the destination country.
• Under DHS guidance issued in March 2025, officials may remove someone without further procedures if the State Department considers the receiving country’s assurances against persecution or torture credible.
• If officials lack credible assurances, DHS informs the migrant of the destination; officers do not ask whether the person fears being sent there, but refer people who express fear for screening.
• In September, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals largely upheld a lower-court judgment requiring effective notice and a meaningful opportunity to challenge removal on persecution or torture grounds.