The Trump administration recently notched a win on the immigration front when the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals granted its motion for an administrative stay following a February 25, 2026, order from Massachusetts District Court Judge Brian Murphy that restricted DHS’s ability to deport illegal aliens to third countries not originally designated in their immigration proceedings.
READ MORE: Appeals Court Hands Trump Admin. a Win in High-Stakes Immigration Case
As we noted at the time, the 1st Circuit's grant of the administrative stay was merely a temporary pause, designed to allow the appellate court to more fully consider the request for a stay pending appeal. But that order also indicated the court would rule promptly on the latter, and now it has, granting that request as well on Monday.
There's little to go on in terms of the court's reasoning. All we get is:
"Defendants' emergency motion for stay pending appeal is granted," followed by a briefing schedule and a footnote indicating that one of the three judges on the panel, Lara Montecalvo, would have denied the stay. (For those wondering, Montecalvo is a Biden appointee — but so is Seth Aframe, who voted in favor of the stay, along with Bush 43 appointee Jeffrey Howard.)
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Either way, it's a win for the administration, and Attorney General Pam Bondi applauded it on X Monday morning.
New legal victory: the First Circuit just ruled that the Trump Administration can CONTINUE deporting illegal aliens to third countries.
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) March 16, 2026
There is more work ahead on this important issue, but this is a key win for @POTUS’s immigration agenda.@thejusticedept attorneys will…
New legal victory: the First Circuit just ruled that the Trump Administration can CONTINUE deporting illegal aliens to third countries.
There is more work ahead on this important issue, but this is a key win for @POTUS’s immigration agenda.
@thejusticedept attorneys will continue fighting tirelessly to advance and protect President Trump’s policies in court.
Again, this is a procedural ruling, not one on the merits, but it's a notable one for the administration.
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