A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration violated a previous court order by deporting eight migrants, reportedly towards South Sudan, without affording them the opportunity to contest their removal to a third country. District Court Judge Brian Murphy in Massachusetts issued the ruling on Wednesday, following a hearing prompted by allegations that the administration had disregarded his March injunction.
The ruling comes after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed the deportation of individuals from Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cuba, Mexico, and South Sudan. The DHS cited violent criminal convictions, including murder and sexual assault, as justification for the deportations.
“The department’s actions,” Judge Murphy stated, “are unquestionably violative of this court’s order.”
The judge expressed concern over the timing of the migrants’ notification of their destination, which occurred “sometime in the evening” on Monday, outside of regular business hours. He noted that the individuals were removed from ICE custody the following morning, leaving them without sufficient time to consult legal counsel or family members. This, he argued, rendered it “impossible” for them to “have a meaningful opportunity to object” to their deportation.
Immigration attorneys had alerted Judge Murphy to the alleged deportation of two clients from Myanmar and Vietnam to South Sudan. One of these individuals, Nyo Mint, may have been diverted to Myanmar (Burma), but his attorney, Jonathan Ryan, reported that he remains unaware of his client’s whereabouts and considers him “disappeared.”
“I have not heard from my client,” Ryan stated. “How am I supposed to take their word that they sent him to Burma?” He criticized the government’s handling of due process, stating, “It’s a problem when we stop doing due process for unpopular people.”
During a DHS press briefing, spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin defended the deportations, asserting that “no country on earth wanted to accept them because their crimes were so uniquely barbaric.” She also criticized “activist judges” for attempting to return the migrants to the United States.
The destination of the deported individuals, South Sudan, is currently under a State Department travel advisory warning against travel due to “crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict.” The country also faces the risk of renewed civil war, despite a 2018 power-sharing agreement.
Judge Murphy had previously blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to deport individuals to Libya and reaffirmed his injunction against third-country deportations in response to an emergency motion from the migrants’ lawyers. The government attorneys confirmed that the migrants remain in ICE custody and that the deportation plane has landed, but declined to disclose the final destination.
The case highlights the ongoing legal battles surrounding the Trump administration’s immigration policies and the tension between national security concerns and due process rights for migrants.
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