US deports 8 men to South Sudan amidst legal controversy
The individuals, all convicted of serious crimes ranging from murder to sexual assault and armed robbery, were with at the end or near completion of their prison sentences. Remarkably, only one of the eight men is a South Sudanese national. The rest are nationals of Myanmar, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos and Mexico.
US officials said most of their home countries had refused to accept them. Left with few options, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security opted to relocate them to South Sudan, a fragile nation on the verge of renewed civil conflict.
Officials did not say whether the South Sudanese government had detained them or what their fate would be. The country remains unstable and is on the brink of civil war, with the US State Department warning against travel because of "crime, kidnapping and armed conflict", reports BBC.
The deportation was originally halted in May after US District Judge Brian Murphy ruled that migrants facing expulsion to third-party nations must receive prior notice and be granted access to an asylum officer. The plane was diverted mid-flight to Djibouti, where the men remained for weeks while legal challenges played out.
But last week, the Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration and overturned Judge Murphy's ruling. On Thursday, the Supreme Court confirmed that the judge could no longer require due process hearings, allowing the deportations to proceed.
Lawyers then asked another judge to intervene, but he ultimately ruled that only Judge Murphy had jurisdiction. Judge Murphy then said he had no authority to stop the removals due to the Supreme Court's "binding" decision.
Tricia McLaughlin from the Department of Homeland Security called the South Sudan deportation a victory over "activist judges".
Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked all visas for South Sudanese passport holders, citing the country's past refusal to accept deported nationals.
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