Federal appeals court lifts block on DHS deportations to third countries

The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals lifted a block Wednesday on a lower court ruling that prevented the Trump administration from deporting illegal migrants to "third countries" that are willing to accept them.

The Trump administration had appealed U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy's ruling last week, after he ruled in February that the Department of Homeland Security's deportation policy was unlawful and violates due process protections under the U.S. Constitution. 

The administration argued Murphy's order violated two previous Supreme Court rulings and created an "unworkable scheme" that threatened to derail negotiations with other countries, along with thousands of deportations, per Fox News.

One of the rulings the administration argued it infringed on was the Supreme Court's order that narrowed the scope of specific injunctions and urged lower court judges to be more conservative in their issuance.  

The ruling, which is still expected to be taken to the nation's highest court, comes just before Murphy's ruling was expected to take effect on Thursday.