Deportation orders to 'third countries' on pause for asylum seekers in San Francisco

"After months of deportation orders that would send asylum seekers to "third-countries," where they aren't from, it appears this practice is on pause in San Francisco immigration court. None of these deportation orders, called motions to pretermit, have been filed since Friday, local immigration attorneys told Mission Local."

"This pause comes on the heels of a March 12 federal directive to Immigration and Customs Enforcement lawyers to stop filing motions to pretermit, The Seattle Times reported. That news article cited an email sent to ICE attorneys. There was no rationale given in that directive to explain the reason for this change or indicate whether it would be temporary or permanent."

"Over the last four months, the Department of Homeland Security had ramped up the use of pretermit motions, forming "Asylum Cooperative Agreements" with countries like Honduras, Guatemala, Ecuador and Uganda to receive asylum seekers from elsewhere and process their asylum claims. This tactic had been widely used in San Francisco's immigration court."

San Francisco immigration court has paused deportation orders that would send asylum seekers to third countries where they are not from. This pause follows a March 12 federal directive instructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement lawyers to stop filing motions to pretermit, which are used to deport individuals to countries other than their origin. No rationale was provided for the directive, and it remains unclear if the pause is temporary or permanent. Previously, the Department of Homeland Security had significantly increased use of pretermit motions over four months, filing 1,141 such motions in San Francisco between November and February through Asylum Cooperative Agreements with countries including Honduras, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Uganda.

Read at Mission Local