The court granted the government’s emergency motion for a stay pending appeal of the district court’s 25 February 2026 judgment setting aside the third-country removal policy, so that the judgment does not take effect while the appeal proceeds. Judge Montecalvo would have denied the stay. The order sets an expedited briefing schedule and directs the parties to address two questions: the significance of 8 U.S.C. § 1252(e) for the government’s contention that the district court lacked authority to set aside the March 2025 guidance, and whether the appeal as to class members ineligible for statutory withholding under 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3) can be resolved without reaching procedural due process under the Fifth Amendment. The court stated it intends to hold oral argument soon after briefing.
Caution A stay order, not a decision on the merits. It leaves the district court’s reasoning intact but unenforceable while the appeal is pending. The appeal remained live as of 1 September 2026, when the appellees filed a citation of supplemental authorities under Fed. R. App. P. 28(j).
Notice Third-country designation Class relief Jurisdiction Stay pending appeal
The court's own text
Read in full from the court’s own order as entered on the district court docket, Document 246, 2 pages, 16 March 2026.
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