Judge Rules Against Trump on Deportations to South Sudan

A federal judge ruled late Tuesday that US officials must retain custody and control of migrants apparently removed to South Sudan in case he orders their removals were unlawful, the AP reports. US District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Massachusetts issued the ruling after an emergency hearing, after attorneys for immigrants said the Trump administration appears to have begun deporting people from Myanmar and Vietnam to South Sudan—despite a court order restricting removals to other countries. Murphy said the government must "maintain custody and control of class members currently being removed to South Sudan or to any other third country, to ensure the practical feasibility of return if the Court finds that such removals were unlawful."

While Murphy left the details to the government's discretion, he said he expects the migrants "will be treated humanely." Attorneys for the migrants told the judge that immigration authorities may have sent up to a dozen people from several countries to Africa, which they argue violates a court order saying people must get a "meaningful opportunity" to argue that sending them to a country outside their homeland would threaten their safety. The apparent removal of one man from Myanmar was confirmed in an email from an immigration official in Texas, according to court documents. He was informed only in English, a language he does not speak well, and his attorneys learned of the plan hours before his deportation flight, they said.

A woman also reported that her husband from Vietnam and up to 10 other people were flown to Africa Tuesday morning, attorneys from the National Immigration Litigation Alliance wrote. The attorneys asked Murphy for an emergency court order to prevent the deportations. Murphy, who was appointed by President Biden, previously found that any plans to deport people to Libya without notice would "clearly" violate his ruling, which also applies to people who have otherwise exhausted their legal appeals. Murphy said in his Tuesday order that US officials must appear in court Wednesday to provide information about the affected migrants.

(More South Sudan stories.)