In a win for the Trump administration, a federal appeals court temporarily blocked a lower court ruling on Wednesday that sought to hinder the government’s deportation operations.
In its short order, the three-judge panel for the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals placed an administrative stay (“pause”) on a recent decision by District Judge Brian Murphy. The Biden appointee issued a ruling last month declaring the administration’s efforts to deport illegal aliens to “third countries” (nations other than the individual’s country-of-origin) to be unlawful and blocked its enforcement.
The 1st Circuit panel of two Biden appointees and a Bush 43 appointee determined “[a]fter careful review” that an administrative stay temporarily pausing Murphy’s order “is appropriate.” The judges further indicated their intent to “promptly” issue a complete ruling on revoking the lower court’s blockade.
The appellate court’s decision authorizes the Trump administration to move forward with its deportation policy as litigation on the matter continues.
Wednesday’s ruling comes as another humiliating moment for Murphy, who has a history of openly defying the U.S. Supreme Court on the matter.
The nation’s highest court temporarily stayed (6-3) a preliminary injunction issued by Murphy last year on the administration’s “third country” deportations. Not to be outdone, the Biden appointee issued a directive to the federal government hours later, in which he claimed that his initial block on the policy was not affected by the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The Trump administration subsequently asked the Supreme Court to clarify its order. This time, in a 7-2 decision, the high court affirmed that its ruling did, in fact, cover Murphy’s initial injunction.
The incident prompted stinging criticisms from Associate Justice Elena Kagan. In a statement concurring with the high court’s clarification, the Obama appointee noted that while she disagreed with the Supreme Court’s initial decision to block Murphy’s injunction, she does “not see how a district court can compel compliance with an order that this Court has stayed.”
The legal battle over the Trump administration’s deportation policies is one of many playing out in federal courtrooms across America, as left-wing activists wage a full-throated judicial coup against the sitting president.
Filing lawsuits in district courts dominated by Democrat-appointed judges, these leftists have sought to weaponize the legal system to grind the administration’s policy agenda to a halt. And in many cases, these rogue judges have played along with such a strategy.
Just last week, a three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals shot down a request by the government to freeze a lower court blockade on its revocation of Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of Haitian nationals residing in the United States. The Department of Justice appealed the decision to the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
