The Trump administration cannot deport migrants to countries that are not their own without proper notice, a US appeals court ruled on Friday.
The court said migrants must be informed ahead of time where they will be sent so they can raise concerns if they fear persecution or torture in that country.
The ruling was delivered by a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which agreed with an earlier lower court decision.
Writing for the panel, Judge Seth Aframe said the right to challenge deportation means nothing if a person does not know their destination.
He noted that Congress has made it clear that the US should not send people to places where their lives would be threatened.
According to the court, the policy of the Department of Homeland Security, DHS, would strip many non-citizens of that protection by deporting them to third countries without notice.
The Trump administration has defended the policy, saying it is needed because some home countries refuse to take back their nationals.
The government is expected to take the case to the Supreme Court. President Donald Trump, who campaigned on removing millions of undocumented migrants, has pushed for faster deportations since returning to the White House.
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