A US federal appeals court has broadly upheld a lower court ruling restricting the Trump administration’s policy of deporting undocumented migrants to countries other than their own.

A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled on Friday that migrants facing so-called third-country deportations must receive effective notice of their intended destination and an opportunity to raise concerns about possible persecution or torture there.

US law prohibits the deportation of people to countries where they face a risk of persecution or torture.

Writing for the unanimous panel, Judge Seth Aframe said, “An individual’s right to contest removal to a country based on a fear of persecution in that country means little if one does not receive prior notice of the intended removal destination and a meaningful opportunity to contest that destination.”

The judge said the Department of Homeland Security policy could deny protection to a substantial number of migrants who are sent to third countries without being informed of their destination beforehand.

The Trump administration is expected to appeal the ruling to the US Supreme Court.

The administration has defended third-country deportations as necessary in cases where migrants’ home countries refuse to accept them.

President Donald Trump campaigned on a pledge to deport millions of undocumented migrants and has introduced several measures aimed at accelerating deportations since returning to the White House.