Overview
- The dispute intensified after 60 Minutes aired a report alleging some migrants the U.S. sent to third countries were then sent onward to their home states despite U.S. immigration‑judge orders protecting them.
- DHS general counsel James Percival pressed back on camera and on social media, disputing factual details in the report and arguing the removals serve public‑safety goals.
- ICE and DHS published lists of violent offenders they say were removed to third countries to rebut 60 Minutes’ narrative and highlight criminal removals.
- The case of Moussa Diawara is the focal test: reporters and DHS offer conflicting accounts of his asylum claim, baggage‑tag evidence, and whether U.S. officials intended his return to Mali, and his attorney has asked a court to order his return to the United States.
- The policy is under active litigation after lower courts found parts unlawful, appeals followed, and the Supreme Court has permitted removals to continue while it prepares to hear the case, a decision that will shape oversight and use of third‑country transfers.