The Trump administration on Wednesday said it placed eight migrant detainees with serious criminal records on a deportation flight that lawyers alleged was destined for the violence-plagued African country of South Sudan, in its latest attempt to deport migrants to countries that are not their own.
The administration has not publicly disclosed the whereabouts of the flight, which a federal judge on Wednesday said “unquestionably” violated a court ruling blocking deportations to third countries without allowing detainees to contest their removal.
Top Department of Homeland Security officials said the eight men were in the U.S. illegally and hailed from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, South Sudan and Vietnam. The department shared case information indicating all the would-be deportees had criminal convictions, including for homicide, attempted murder, sexual assault, lascivious acts with a child and robbery.
On Tuesday, immigration lawyers told the federal district court in Massachusetts that at least two men from Myanmar and Vietnam were likely being deported to South Sudan, saying the reported deportation flight would violate an order by federal judge Brian Murphy that blocked deportations to third countries unless detainees were provided certain due process rights.
During a briefing in Washington on Wednesday to discuss a migrant flight to South Sudan, top DHS officials confirmed a deportation flight had left Texas on Tuesday, saying the eight detainees from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, South Sudan and Vietnam were being transported as part of “a diplomatic and military security operation.”
The officials, however, declined to confirm the final destination of the flight or any formal arrangement with South Sudan’s government, citing operational and safety concerns. The officials also said they could not disclose the exact whereabouts of the detainees.
Following an emergency motion by the lawyers who alerted him of the potential deportation flight to South Sudan, Murphy, the federal judge in Massachusetts, ordered the Trump administration late Tuesday to retain “custody and control” of the would-be deportees.
On Wednesday, top DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the eight men who had been placed on the deportation flight that departed Texas remained in U.S. custody.
McLaughlin also sharply criticized Murphy’s ruling. “It is absolutely absurd for a district judge to try and dictate the foreign policy and national security of the United States of America,” McLaughlin said, accusing Murphy of “trying to force” officials to bring back dangerous individuals to the U.S.
During a hearing Wednesday, a Justice Department lawyer told Murphy the flight in question had landed somewhere and also confirmed the men remained in U.S. custody but said the current location of the flight could only be discussed in private, out of earshot of the press.
The Justice Department said the situation was dangerous for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees on the flight because of the severity of the detainees’ criminal records.
After a private conversation with both parties, Murphy said that the government’s attempted deportations “are unquestionably violative of this court’s order.” He noted that the detainees were put on the deportation flight less than 24 hours after being told they would be deported to South Sudan.
“I don’t see how anybody could say that these individuals had a meaningful opportunity to object” to their removal, Murphy said. “They did not offer any opportunity to object.” Murphy noted the detainees were put on a deportation flight less than a day after being told they would be deported to South Sudan.
The Justice Department attorneys arguing the case said Murphy’s orders in the case were “not specific enough,” which gave rise to “misunderstanding.”
Murphy did not rule out holding the Trump administration in contempt of court for violating his order, but said that issue would be “left for another day.”
As part of its immigration crackdown, President Trump’s administration has staged an intense diplomatic effort to convince nations around the world to accept migrants who are not their own citizens, approaching nations like Libya and Rwanda to take in third-country deportees.
Early on in Mr. Trump’s second term, U.S. officials deported African and Asian migrants to Costa Rica and Panama, and Venezuelan deportees accused of being gang members to El Salvador, where they remain detained at a notorious mega prison.
Jacob Rosen
contributed to this report.
