A United States judge has severely rebuked the administration of President Donald Trump, stating that reports of deportations to South Sudan may contradict his previous court order.
During a virtual hearing in Boston, Massachusetts, on Tuesday, US District Court Judge Brian Murphy addressed an emergency motion on behalf of migrants reportedly on a flight to South Sudan. He inquired about the migrants’ whereabouts and hinted at the possibility of ordering the flight to turn around.
Judge Murphy expressed his suspicion that the situation could be in violation of his previous contempt ruling against the Trump administration. The US Department of State’s annual report had previously accused South Sudan of severe human rights violations, including torture and extrajudicial killings.
The Trump administration had been seeking alternative destinations to send undocumented immigrants currently detained in the United States, particularly those whose home countries refuse to accept them. However, Judge Murphy ruled that the reported flight to South Sudan appeared to violate his preliminary injunction from April 18, which prohibited the deportation of migrants to third-party countries that were not their own.
Judge Murphy emphasized that the migrants were seeking an opportunity to explain why such deportation would likely result in their persecution, torture, or death. He based his ruling on the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution, which guarantees the right to due process and a fair hearing in the US court system.
Lawyers for the migrants had previously mentioned on May 7 that their clients were slated to be sent to Libya, another country with significant human rights concerns. Judge Murphy, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, ruled that such a deportation would also be a violation of his injunction.
In the emergency court filing, the lawyers for the migrants emphasized the severity of the situation and sought immediate action from the court. They explained that the migrants, identified only by their initials and countries of origin (including Myanmar and Vietnam), were already on a bus sitting on the tarmac of an airport when they were ordered to be returned.
The filing detailed the ordeal experienced by a Myanmar migrant, NM, who received a notice of removal identifying South Africa as the destination. However, within 10 minutes, the email was recalled, and a new notice was sent, naming South Sudan as the destination. NM refused to sign the document and had limited English proficiency without a translator provided. One of NM’s lawyers intended to meet with him on Tuesday morning, but he had already been removed from his detention facility, en route to South Sudan.
The filing also included a copy of an email sent by the family members of the deported individuals to the lawyers. The email expressed concern and emphasized the fear that these individuals, including people from Laos, Thailand, Pakistan, Korea, and Mexico, were being sent to South Africa or Sudan against their will and requested urgent help.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/20/us-judge-indicates-deportations-to-south-sudan-likely-violated-court-order?traffic_source=rss
