logo
Judge says US govt didn't follow court order on deportations

Judge says US govt didn't follow court order on deportations

Nahar Net22-05-2025

by Naharnet Newsdesk 22 May 2025, 14:35
The White House violated a court order on deportations to third countries with a flight linked to the chaotic African nation of South Sudan, a federal judge said Wednesday, hours after the Trump administration said it had expelled eight immigrants convicted of violent crimes but refused to reveal where they would end up. The judge's statement was a notably strong rebuke to the government's deportation efforts.
In an emergency hearing he called to address reports that immigrants had been sent to South Sudan, Judge Brian E. Murphy in Boston said the eight migrants aboard the plane were not given a meaningful opportunity to object that the deportation could put them in danger. Minutes before the hearing, administration officials accused "activist judges" of advocating the release of dangerous criminals.
"The department actions in this case are unquestionably in violation of this court's order," Murphy said Wednesday, arguing that the deportees didn't have "meaningful opportunity" to object to being sent to South Sudan. The group was flown out of the United States just hours after getting notice, leaving them no chance to contact lawyers who could object in court.
Government attorneys argued that the men had a history with the immigration system, giving them prior opportunities to express a fear of being deported to a country outside their homeland. They also pointed out that the judge had not specified the exact time needed between notice and deportation, leaving room for misunderstanding.
The government calls the deported people 'true national security threats'
The migrants' home countries — Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Vietnam and South Sudan — would not take them back, according to Todd Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who spoke to reporters in Washington. He later said the migrants either came from countries that often do not take back all their deported citizens or had other situations that meant they could not be sent home.
"These represent the true national security threats," Lyons said at a news conference. Behind him was a display of photos of men he said had been convicted of rape, homicide, armed robbery and other crimes.
Administration officials, who have repeatedly clashed with the courts over their attempts to deport large numbers of immigrants, made their displeasure clear Wednesday.
President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem "are working every single day to get these vicious criminals off of American streets — and while activist judges are on the other side, fighting to get them back onto the United States soil," said Tricia McLaughlin, a department spokesperson. She pointed to the photographs and described them as "the monsters" that Murphy "is trying to protect."
Homeland Security officials released few specific details about the deportation flight. They said it left Tuesday with eight people on board and said they remained in the department's custody Wednesday. Officials said they could not disclose the migrants' final destination because of "safety and operational security."
The case comes amid a sweeping immigration crackdown by the Republican administration, which has pledged to deport millions of people who are living in the United States illegally. The legal fight is the latest flashpoint as the administration rails against judges whose rulings have slowed the president's policies.
Lawsuits on immigration issues are everywhere
With Congress largely silent or supportive, opponents of Trump's agenda have filed hundreds of lawsuits and judges have issued dozens of orders against the administration. Immigration has been the most contentious issue. There was the mistaken deportation of an immigrant who was living in Maryland to a prison in El Salvador, as well as Trump's push to swiftly deport alleged Venezuelan gang members without a court review.
The administration officials insisted that the deported men had received due process, but did not provide details. Immigration-rights attorneys argue they violated Murphy's order, first handed down in March, that says people must have a chance to argue that going somewhere outside their homeland would put them in danger before being deported, even if they've otherwise exhausted their legal appeals.
"The government is still refusing to provide due process to our clients, which means they are not giving them notice of the country to which they're being deported, proper notice in a language that they understand, and not giving them a meaningful opportunity to claim fear based on those countries," Trina Realmuto, the executive director of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, said outside court.
"These are countries that the State Department doesn't want Americans to travel to. They are categorically not safe," she added.
In court, Realmuto asked the judge to return the individuals to the United States. "They are no less deserving of protection than any other human beings on this planet," she said.
The government argued the interviews with the men over their fears could be done where they are currently being held and confirmed with Murphy that they can be arranged. Realmuto called this a "logistical nightmare" that penalizes the men because the government violated the judge's order. She said it would prove a challenge to get the men legal counsel and interpreters, an effort complicated by the time difference.
Murphy, who raised the prospect of criminal contempt for anyone "involved in an illegal deportation," later Wednesday ordered the government conduct a new set of interviews with the migrants if an appropriate place with appropriate privacy can be found. He said the government was welcome to bring the migrants back, but did not order they do so.
On Twitter late Wednesday, DHS' McLaughlin called the order "deranged."
The countries of origin vary
Attorneys for the immigrants told the judge that immigration authorities may have sent as many as a dozen people from several countries to Africa.
The apparent removal of one man from the troubled Southeast Asian nation of 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 lawyers 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 on Tuesday morning, attorneys from the National Immigration Litigation Alliance wrote.
Murphy, who was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, previously found that any plans to deport people to Libya without notice would "clearly" violate his ruling.
South Sudan says it's unaware of any arrivals
South Sudan's police spokesperson, Maj. Gen. James Monday Enoka, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that no migrants had arrived in the country and that if they do, they would be investigated and "redeported to their correct country" if found not to be South Sudanese.
Edmund Yakani, executive director of the South Sudanese group Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, questioned why people convicted of crimes in the United States would be sent there. "Is South Sudan a land of less human who deserve to receive perpetrators of human rights violations? Without any public explanation?" he asked.
Some countries do not accept deportations from the United States. That has led the administration to strike agreements with other countries, including Panama, to house them. The U.S. has sent Venezuelans to a notorious prison in El Salvador under an 18th-century wartime law, an action being contested in the courts.
South Sudan has endured repeated waves of violence since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011 amid hopes it could use its large oil reserves to bring prosperity to a region long battered by poverty. Just weeks ago, the country's top U.N. official warned that fighting between forces loyal to the president and a vice president threatened to spiral again into full-scale civil war.
The State Department's annual report on South Sudan, published in April 2024, says "significant human rights issues" include arbitrary killings, disappearances, torture or inhumane treatment by security forces and extensive violence based on gender and sexual identity.
The Homeland Security Department has given Temporary Protected Status to a small number of South Sudanese already living in the United States, shielding them from deportation because conditions were deemed unsafe for return. Noem recently extended those protections to November to allow for a more thorough review.
The U.S is one of the biggest donors to South Sudan's humanitarian aid programs, with the total funding in 2024 standing at over $640 million.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Lebanon reportedly arrests Yemeni who was spying for Israel
Lebanon reportedly arrests Yemeni who was spying for Israel

Nahar Net

time2 hours ago

  • Nahar Net

Lebanon reportedly arrests Yemeni who was spying for Israel

by Naharnet Newsdesk 10 June 2025, 15:53 A Yemeni man has been arrested in Lebanon on charges of spying for Israel, Lebanese media reports said. In remarks published Tuesday, Lebanese judicial sources confirmed to Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that 'a Lebanese security agency did arrest a Yemeni man who was communicating with the Israelis.' The Lebanon 24 news portal had on Monday described the Yemeni man as 'a Houthi leader who was acting as a mediator between Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi group.' 'The man was recruited by the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and he provided Israel with sensitive information about Yemen and about coordination between Hezbollah and the Houthis,' the news portal said.

UN Ocean Conference tries to turn promises into protection
UN Ocean Conference tries to turn promises into protection

Nahar Net

time2 hours ago

  • Nahar Net

UN Ocean Conference tries to turn promises into protection

by Naharnet Newsdesk 10 June 2025, 14:57 The third U.N. Ocean Conference opened Monday as pressure mounts for nations to turn decades of promises into real protection for the sea. "The fight for the ocean is at the heart of the yearslong battles we've been waging — for biodiversity, for climate, for our environment and for our health," said French President Emmanuel Macron, delivering the keynote address. Just 2.7% of the ocean is effectively protected from destructive extractive activities, according to the nonprofit Marine Conservation Institute. That's far below the target agreed under the "30x30" pledge to conserve 30% of land and sea by 2030. Ratification of the High Seas Treaty tops the agenda. Adopted in 2023, the treaty would for the first time allow nations to establish marine protected areas in international waters, which cover nearly two-thirds of the ocean and are largely ungoverned. "It's the Wild West out there with countries just fishing anywhere without any sort of regulation, and that needs to change," said Mauro Randone, regional projects manager at the World Wildlife Fund's Mediterranean Marine Initiative. "The high seas belong to everyone and no one practically at the same time, and countries are finally committing to establish some rules." The ocean is critical in stabilizing Earth's climate and sustaining life. It generates 50% of the oxygen we breathe, absorbs around 30% of carbon dioxide emissions and captures more than 90% of the excess heat caused by those emissions. Without a healthy ocean, experts warn, climate goals will remain out of reach. The treaty will come into force once 60 countries ratify it. As of Monday, at least 49 countries had. Advocates hope the conference can build enough momentum to cross the threshold, which would allow for the first official Oceans Conference of Parties. "Two-thirds of the ocean is areas beyond national jurisdiction — that's half our planet," said Minna Epps, director of global ocean policy at the International Union for Conservation of Nature. "We cannot possibly protect 30% of the ocean if it doesn't include the high seas." South Korea, France and the European Union have championed the treaty, but most large ocean nations have yet to ratify it, including the rest of the G20. Thousands of conference attendees are expected, including heads of state, scientists and industry leaders. The United States has confirmed it isn't sending a formal delegation, just observers. From protections on paper to something real The conference highlights the growing gap between marine protection declarations and real-world conservation. France, the conference co-host, claims to have surpassed the 30% target for marine protection. But environmental groups say only 3% of French waters are fully protected from harmful activities like bottom trawling and industrial fishing. In 2024, more than 100 bottom-trawling vessels were recorded spending over 17,000 hours fishing within France's six marine nature parks, according to ocean advocacy group Oceana. "The government declares these as protected areas, but this is a lie," said Enric Sala, founder of National Geographic Pristine Seas marine reserve project. "Most of it is political box-ticking. It's all paper parks." That criticism is echoed across the continent. A new World Wildlife Fund report found that although more than 11% of Europe's marine area is designated for protection, just 2% of EU waters have management plans in place. Fabien Boileau, director of marine protected areas at France's Office for Biodiversity, acknowledged the presence of bottom trawling in French protected areas, but said it was part of a phased strategy. "In France, we made the choice to designate large marine protected areas with relatively low levels of regulation at first, betting that stronger protections would be developed over time through local governance," he said. "Today, we're gradually increasing the number of zones with stricter protections within those areas." France's Port-Cros: A model for conservation Other marine protected areas show what real protection can achieve. Off southern France, Port-Cros National Park is one of the oldest marine reserves in the Mediterranean. Strict anchoring bans have allowed vast seagrass meadows to grow undisturbed. Massive groupers patrol rocky outcrops, brightly colored nudibranchs munch on algae and schools of large corbs glide through the shallows, undisturbed by fishing lines. "Thanks to the protections that have been in place since 1963, we can observe species that are much larger than elsewhere in the Mediterranean and at a much higher density than in other areas," said Hubert Flavigny, manager of Mio Palmo dive center in Hyeres, France. Still, such examples remain exceptions. Advocates say industrial fishing lobbies continue to resist stricter protections, despite evidence that well-managed reserves boost long-term fisheries through the "spillover effect," whereby marine life flourishes in nearby waters. "Protection is not the problem — overfishing is the problem," said Sala. "The worst enemy of the fishing industry is themselves." Frustrated by government inaction, environmental groups have taken enforcement into their own hands. In May, Greenpeace dropped 15 limestone boulders into France's Golfe du Lion, aiming to physically block bottom trawling in a marine area that has long been designated for protection. The protected zone was established in 2008 to preserve deep-sea ecosystems, yet 12 trawlers continue to operate there, despite scientific warnings of ecological collapse, according to activist group MedReAct. The Golfe is now one of the most overfished areas in the Mediterranean. What will the conference deliver? The conference will feature 10 panels on topics such as blue finance, sustainable fisheries and plastic pollution. Deep sea mining is expected to feature in broader discussions, while small island states are likely to use the platform to advocate for increased climate adaptation funding. The outcome of these discussions will form the basis of the Nice Ocean Action Plan — a declaration of voluntary commitments to be adopted by consensus and presented at the United Nations in July. "There cannot be a healthy planet without a healthy ocean," said Peter Thomson, U.N. special envoy for the ocean. "It's urgent business for us all."

French authorities say 14-year-old student stabbed school employee to death
French authorities say 14-year-old student stabbed school employee to death

Nahar Net

time3 hours ago

  • Nahar Net

French authorities say 14-year-old student stabbed school employee to death

by Naharnet Newsdesk 10 June 2025, 16:02 A French middle school employee was stabbed to death by a 14-year-old student during a bag check Tuesday at their school in eastern France, authorities said. The student was detained. A police officer helping with the bag checks was slightly injured during the arrest by the student, using the same knife he used against the school employee, the gendarme service said. The attack at the Francoise Dolto School in Nogent, north of the Burgundy city of Dijon, was being investigated. "While she was looking after our children in Nogent, an educational assistant lost her life, a victim of senseless violence," French President Emmanuel Macron said in a post on X. "The nation is in mourning and the government mobilized to bring crime down." Such fatal attacks have been rare in France, but concerns about school violence have been on the rise. The Education Ministry introduced bag checks this year at some schools to reduce it. Over a two-month period this spring, 186 knives were seized during school bag checks and 32 people detained, the interior minister's office said. Regional Prosecutor Denis Devallois said the student was 14 years old and did not have a police record. Education Minister Elisabeth Borne said the boy had been a student representative in the school's anti-bullying program, and had been briefly suspended earlier this year for disrupting class. Police officers were carrying out bag checks just outside the school, and the school employee was standing alongside them when the stabbing occurred at the school entry, the gendarme service said. The school's classes were canceled for the day, and the prosecutor said psychological help was being offered to students and staff. In April, a high school student stabbed four other students at his school in western France, killing one and wounding three others before being arrested, police said. That prompted the prime minister to call for tougher measures against knife violence in schools.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store