8 deportees land in South Sudan after Supreme Court ruling
July 5 (UPI) -- Eight deported "migrants" who had been held at a U.S. military base in Djibouti are bound for South Sudan aboard a military aircraft that took off on Friday night.
The flight carrying the eight deportees had been delayed for six weeks until the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled a lower court erred when it issued a preliminary injunction halting the deportations in April.
"These sickos were finally deported to South Sudan on Independence day," said Tricia McLaughlin, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary, in a press release on Saturday.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement "deported these eight barbaric criminal illegal aliens who are so heinous even their own countries will not accept them," McLaughlin added.
She accused federal "activist judges" of delaying the deportation flight.
"We will continue to fight for the freedoms of Americans while these far-left activists continue to try and force us to bring murderers, pedophiles and rapists back to the U.S.," McLaughlin said.
The federal lawsuit forced the flight to land at the Djibouti base while the matter made its way through the federal court system.
The eight deportees include two from Cuba, two from Burma, and one each from Laos, Vietnam, Mexico and South Sudan.
All have been convicted of crimes, including homicide, armed robbery, kidnapping, sexual assault and sexual offenses involving a minor younger than age 12.
The military aircraft left the Djibouti base at 8:30 p.m. EDT with each deportee secured by handcuffs and ankle shackles while surrounded by uniformed personnel, The New York Times reported.
The aircraft landed in South Sudan just before midnight EDT on Friday.
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