The New York Times reported on August 7, 2026 that ICE deported a group of Mexican nationals who had won deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture, an international treaty protection that bars sending someone to a country where they are likely to be tortured. According to the report, ICE Director David Venturella revoked those protections unilaterally, relying on diplomatic assurances that the State Department obtained from the Mexican government that the deportees would not be harmed.
Immigration experts flagged the move as unusual because torture-based protections are normally lifted only with an immigration judge's authorization, not by the agency on its own. The Department of Homeland Security defended the removals, describing the group as including alleged gang members and drug traffickers, “a child rapist and a murderer.”
The specific case sits on top of a documented policy shift. NBC News reported that a July 9, 2026 ICE memo signed by acting Director Todd Lyons allows officers to deport people to third countries even when there is a risk of persecution or torture, so long as the State Department deems a country's diplomatic assurances credible. The particular Mexican deportations were first reported by the Times, and outlets that carried the story credited it; the underlying policy is independently confirmed. The concern is a system in which a treaty protection against torture can be switched off by administrative fiat.