Latest news with #BirtePfleger
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Daughter of woman murdered by man who US deported speaks out: ‘He was denied due process'
The daughter of a woman murdered by a man from Laos who is among those controversially deported from the US to South Sudan has spoken out about her family's pain but also to decry the lack of rights afforded to those who were expelled to countries other than their own. Birte Pfleger lives in Los Angeles and was a history student at Cal State University in Long Beach when her parents came to visit her from their native Germany in 1994 and ended up shot by Thongxay Nilakout during a robbery while on a sightseeing trip. Pfleger's mother, Gisela, was killed and her father, Klaus, wounded. Nilakout, now 48, is Laotian and was among eight convicted criminals from countries including Mexico, Cuba, Vietnam and Myanmar who were deported to the conflict-torn African country, amid uproar over Donald Trump's extreme immigration policies. In an interview with the Guardian, Pfleger said: 'It's been 31 years living with the irreparable pain and permanent grief, so, on the one hand, I wanted him gone. On the other hand, I'm a historian and I have taught constitutional history. He was denied due process and that's a constitutional problem.' The government of South Sudan has not disclosed the men's exact whereabouts since arriving in the country earlier this month, after legal problems had caused them to be stuck in nearby Djibouti after legal wrangling, or provided any details about their future. A lawyer representing the men said 'their situation is fragile,' noting their relatives have not heard from the deportees since a US military plane flew them to Juba, South Sudan's capital, before midnight on 4 July. A police spokesperson in South Sudan, Maj Gen James Monday Enoka, indicated that the men may ultimately be moved on. 'They will be investigated, the truth will be established and if they are not South Sudanese they will be deported to their rightful countries,' Enoka said. But few details are forthcoming. The US Department of Homeland Security called the men 'sickos'. The deportations had been initially blocked by US district judge Brian Murphy, who had ruled that the group needed to receive notice and due process before being taken to South Sudan, including the opportunity to express fear of being harmed or tortured there. But in a 7-2 ruling, the US supreme court paused Murphy's orders, clearing all obstacles preventing the Trump administration's plan. Just days after the ruling, the administration issued a memo suggesting officials would ramp up deportations to third countries with little notice and due process. The directive by Todd Lyons, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), said US officials may deport migrants to countries other than their own with as little as six hours' notice, even if those third party nations have not made assurances about their safety. Legal experts have objected. 'We are going to continue to fight the policy that conflicts with the statute, the regulations and with the constitution,' said Trina Realmuto, executive director of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, an organization leading a class-action lawsuit against Ice. The UN human rights office denounced the action and urged the US to halt deportations to third-party countries. More than 250 Venezuelans have just been repatriated after being deported by the US without due process to a brutal anti-terrorism prison in El Salvador. Previously a multinational group of migrants was sent to Panama from the US and ended up trapped in a hotel then caged in a jungle setting, while more recently another group was deported to the tiny African kingdom of Eswatini, which critics there described as 'human trafficking' and lamented the prospect of more to follow. 'International law is clear that no one shall be sent anywhere where there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be in danger of being subjected to serious human rights violations such as torture, enforced disappearance or arbitrary deprivation of life,' the UN said in a statement. Nilakout was 17 when he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for his murderous attack on Birte Pfleger's parents. In 2012, the US supreme court ruled that life without parole was unconstitutional for minors. After nearly 30 years behind bars, Nilakout became eligible for parole in 2022, despite a challenge from Pfleger, and was released from a California state prison the following year. He was picked up in Trump's mass deportation dragnet after the Republican president returned to the White House in January. Pfleger, now a history professor at Cal State University in Los Angeles, said she felt conflicted when she found out that Nilokaut had been deported to South Sudan. 'The moral dilemma here is that he should have never been let out of prison. But once he was released from prison, Ice should have been able to deport him, or he should have self-deported to Laos. But of course, what happened is he was put on a Gulfstream jet headed for South Sudan that violated a federal judge's orders to give notice. He and the others were denied due process,' she said. Pfleger continued: 'I am not involved in victims' rights organizations or anything like that. I have not gone to law school, but I have read the constitution and the history of it. And I think that due process rights are fundamental. And when they're no longer fundamental, we all have a problem.' The pain for Pfleger and her sister of losing their mother and their father being wounded having watched his wife get shot and being unable to help her persists, and the family had not expected Nilakout to be freed, she said, adding that her father, Klaus, is 93 and frail. My mom was everything to him,' she said. In a statement, the government of South Sudan cited 'the longstanding support extended by the United States' during its fight for independence and its post-independence development, for the latest cooperation. Between 2013 and 2016, a civil war killed 400,000 people in South Sudan. Earlier this year, the threat of a new war breaking out pushed the US embassy to issue a level 4 warning to Americans not to go to South Sudan because of crime, kidnapping and armed conflict there. The German government recently warned, via the foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, posting on social media that: 'After years of fragile peace, South Sudan is again on the brink of civil war.' The UN commission on human rights in South Sudan warned 'We are witnessing an alarming regression that could erase years of hard-won public progress.' The UN added that a humanitarian crisis was looming with half the country already suffering food insecurity and two million internally displaced, with a further two million having fled the violence to seek sanctuary in neighboring countries.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Daughter of woman murdered by man who US deported speaks out: ‘He was denied due process'
The daughter of a woman murdered by a man from Laos who is among those controversially deported from the US to South Sudan has spoken out about her family's pain but also to decry the lack of rights afforded to those who were expelled to countries other than their own. Birte Pfleger lives in Los Angeles and was a history student at Cal State University in Long Beach when her parents came to visit her from their native Germany in 1994 and ended up shot by Thongxay Nilakout during a robbery while on a sightseeing trip. Pfleger's mother, Gisela, was killed and her father, Klaus, wounded. Nilakout, now 48, is Laotian and was among eight convicted criminals from countries including Mexico, Cuba, Vietnam and Myanmar who were deported to the conflict-torn African country, amid uproar over Donald Trump's extreme immigration policies. In an interview with the Guardian, Pfleger said: 'It's been 31 years living with the irreparable pain and permanent grief, so, on the one hand, I wanted him gone. On the other hand, I'm a historian and I have taught constitutional history. He was denied due process and that's a constitutional problem.' The government of South Sudan has not disclosed the men's exact whereabouts since arriving in the country earlier this month, after legal problems had caused them to be stuck in nearby Djibouti after legal wrangling, or provided any details about their future. A lawyer representing the men said 'their situation is fragile,' noting their relatives have not heard from the deportees since a US military plane flew them to Juba, South Sudan's capital, before midnight on 4 July. A police spokesperson in South Sudan, Maj Gen James Monday Enoka, indicated that the men may ultimately be moved on. 'They will be investigated, the truth will be established and if they are not South Sudanese they will be deported to their rightful countries,' Enoka said. But few details are forthcoming. The US Department of Homeland Security called the men 'sickos'. The deportations had been initially blocked by US district judge Brian Murphy, who had ruled that the group needed to receive notice and due process before being taken to South Sudan, including the opportunity to express fear of being harmed or tortured there. But in a 7-2 ruling, the US supreme court paused Murphy's orders, clearing all obstacles preventing the Trump administration's plan. Just days after the ruling, the administration issued a memo suggesting officials would ramp up deportations to third countries with little notice and due process. The directive by Todd Lyons, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), said US officials may deport migrants to countries other than their own with as little as six hours' notice, even if those third party nations have not made assurances about their safety. Legal experts have objected. 'We are going to continue to fight the policy that conflicts with the statute, the regulations and with the constitution,' said Trina Realmuto, executive director of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, an organization leading a class-action lawsuit against Ice. The UN human rights office denounced the action and urged the US to halt deportations to third-party countries. More than 250 Venezuelans have just been repatriated after being deported by the US without due process to a brutal anti-terrorism prison in El Salvador. Previously a multinational group of migrants was sent to Panama from the US and ended up trapped in a hotel then caged in a jungle setting, while more recently another group was deported to the tiny African kingdom of Eswatini, which critics there described as 'human trafficking' and lamented the prospect of more to follow. 'International law is clear that no one shall be sent anywhere where there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be in danger of being subjected to serious human rights violations such as torture, enforced disappearance or arbitrary deprivation of life,' the UN said in a statement. Nilakout was 17 when he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for his murderous attack on Birte Pfleger's parents. In 2012, the US supreme court ruled that life without parole was unconstitutional for minors. After nearly 30 years behind bars, Nilakout became eligible for parole in 2022, despite a challenge from Pfleger, and was released from a California state prison the following year. He was picked up in Trump's mass deportation dragnet after the Republican president returned to the White House in January. Pfleger, now a history professor at Cal State University in Los Angeles, said she felt conflicted when she found out that Nilokaut had been deported to South Sudan. 'The moral dilemma here is that he should have never been let out of prison. But once he was released from prison, Ice should have been able to deport him, or he should have self-deported to Laos. But of course, what happened is he was put on a Gulfstream jet headed for South Sudan that violated a federal judge's orders to give notice. He and the others were denied due process,' she said. Pfleger continued: 'I am not involved in victims' rights organizations or anything like that. I have not gone to law school, but I have read the constitution and the history of it. And I think that due process rights are fundamental. And when they're no longer fundamental, we all have a problem.' The pain for Pfleger and her sister of losing their mother and their father being wounded having watched his wife get shot and being unable to help her persists, and the family had not expected Nilakout to be freed, she said, adding that her father, Klaus, is 93 and frail. My mom was everything to him,' she said. In a statement, the government of South Sudan cited 'the longstanding support extended by the United States' during its fight for independence and its post-independence development, for the latest cooperation. Between 2013 and 2016, a civil war killed 400,000 people in South Sudan. Earlier this year, the threat of a new war breaking out pushed the US embassy to issue a level 4 warning to Americans not to go to South Sudan because of crime, kidnapping and armed conflict there. The German government recently warned, via the foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, posting on social media that: 'After years of fragile peace, South Sudan is again on the brink of civil war.' The UN commission on human rights in South Sudan warned 'We are witnessing an alarming regression that could erase years of hard-won public progress.' The UN added that a humanitarian crisis was looming with half the country already suffering food insecurity and two million internally displaced, with a further two million having fled the violence to seek sanctuary in neighboring countries.
Daily Mail
30-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE My mother was murdered by a migrant in cold blood. A liberal 'coward' with White House ambitions set him free
A 'barbaric' killer controversially deported to East Africa by President Donald Trump 's ICE agents should still be in locked up behind bars, insists the victim's daughter. 'He should have never been paroled,' Birte Pfleger told Daily Mail of Thongxay Nilakout, 48, a native of Laos in Southeast Asia. 'It was devastating.' College professor Pfleger, 57, spoke hauntingly of the searing grief over her 64-year-old mother Gisela's heinous assassination-style murder in 1994 and how the pain is just as raw 31 years later. She also condemned California Governor Gavin Newsom as a 'coward' for his role in the convict's shocking release from Solana State Prison two years ago. Pfleger said Newsom, who is believed to be positioning himself for a 2028 White House run amid continuing leadership chaos in the Democrat party, passed the buck 'rather than do the right thing' when he had an opportunity to overturn a 2023 parole board decision to release the brutal killer. Rather than reverse the board's contentious ruling - one of his executive powers as governor - he instead praised Nilakout and chose to have an 'en banc' hearing instead, meaning a larger group of parole board members would have the final say. The group, thanks to Newsom, affirmed the original parole board decision and allowed Nilakout to leave prison. 'He's a coward for not doing what is right,' said Pfleger of governor, who has been repeatedly criticized for his soft stance on crime. 'In the end, he took the easy way out. 'I knew he wasn't going to do it. The political will wasn't there. 'He was following the general consensus of Democrats in Sacramento - that the days of long sentences were over; there's prison overcrowding and prisons needed to be closed. 'As long as offenders did not kill law enforcement officials or [had] sexually assaulted children, the inmates should be released.' Nilakout emptied all five bullets from his weapon into Gisela and her husband. The couple were visiting from their native Germany when they were set upon by him and two associates who were also convicted and sent to prison. He used his first two bullets to shoot her in the head as she lay helpless on the ground. And the three remaining shells he pumped into Klaus, Pfleger's father, now 93, who miraculously survived. Surgeons were unable to remove one of the bullets, however, as it was lodged near an artery and it remains in his body, behind his shoulder, as a painful reminder of the savage attack. Today, he remains tortured from losing his beloved wife. 'This never ends,' admits his daughter. 'There is no closure.' Pfleger was contacted by Newsom's Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary, Jasmin Turner-Bond, via a May 10, 2023 email with the subject line: 'The Governor has made a decision in the Nilakout case.' She wrote: 'Dear Ms. Pfleger, The Governor has decided to refer inmate Nilakout's grant for an en banc review.' 'He's a coward for not doing what is right,' said Birte Pfleger of Governor Newsom. 'In the end, he took the easy way out In a signed statement dated the same day, Newsom wrote: 'I acknowledge that Mr. Nilakout committed this crime when he was 17 years old and that he has since been incarcerated for 28 years. 'The psychologist who evaluated Mr. Nilakout found that, at the time of the crime, Mr. Nilakout demonstrated hallmark features of youth, which diminished his culpability under youth offender laws. 'I also acknowledge that Mr. Nilakout has made efforts to improve himself in prison. He has participated in self-help programming, earned a GED, and taken college courses. 'I commend him for his efforts in rehabilitation and encourage him to continue on this positive path. 'However, I find this case warrants the consideration of the full Board of Parole Hearings to determine whether Mr. Nilakout can be safely released at this time. 'The psychologist who evaluated Mr. Nilakout identified current areas of concern that include the 'life crime involving extreme violence against unknown and vulnerable victims, [his] participation in documented negative behavior through 2014, and some ongoing deficits in awareness or understanding related to life crime or subsequent negative behavior.' 'The psychologist found that Mr. Nilakout's 'deficits in awareness and understanding related to the life crime and other more recent negative behavior remain present, [but] seem to be decreasing.' 'While this is an encouraging sign that Mr. Nilakout has made progress in rehabilitation, I ask the full Board to assess whether Mr. Nilakout has sufficiently mitigated his risk factors, and whether his release on parole is consistent with public safety. 'For these reasons, I refer the decision to parole Mr. Nilakout back to the Board for en banc consideration.' Nilakout is one of eight violent immigrant criminals ejected from the country last week and flown by a government Gulfstream jet to East Africa headed to landlocked South Sudan. The men are currently under guard at an American military base in the Republic of Djibouti on the Horn of Africa at the southern tip of the Red Sea amid a fierce legal brawl between an 'activist' federal judge and Trump's administration. Critics and attorneys for the men assert Trump's administration is brazenly attempting to skirt legal proceedings in order to permanently banish them. In April, Massachusetts U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy ordered the government to give deportees at least 15 days notice before sending them to a third-country - one where they had previously lived or where they were born. They should also be allowed to tell a court if they fear persecution or torture at their final destinations. But the men were deported anyway with Trump's backing. Other than Nilakout, the men are from countries including Vietnam, Cuba and Mexico. One of them is from South Sudan. So on May 20, an irate Judge Murphy held an emergency hearing and stated U.S. officials must retain custody and control of the migrants while he determines if their removal from the States was unlawful. This in turn prompted swift and fierce pushback from the Department of Homeland Security which controls the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A DHS statement called the men 'some of the most barbaric, violent individuals illegally in the United States' Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, called the judge's ruling 'deranged.' She added: 'These depraved individuals have all had their day in court and been given final deportation orders. 'A reminder of who was on this plane: murderers, child rapists, an individual who raped a mentally & physically disabled person. 'The message this activist judge is sending to victims and their families is we don't care.' President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem 'are working every day to get vicious criminals out of our country while activist judges are fighting to bring them back onto American soil.' The Supreme Court has now taken up the case. Nilakout was 17 at the time of the slaying near the mountain town of Idyllwild, 110 miles east of Los Angeles. He was found guilty of first-degree murder and robbery and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. However, a ruling in 2012 meant that juveniles convicted a violent crime must be given a chance for parole and freedom. Against Pfleger's hopes that he remained in jail, Nilakout was granted parole and he received a final order of removal in July 2023. 'He's no different,' she said. 'He doesn't take full responsibility for shooting my mom when she was lying face down. The only reason my dad is still alive is because he [Nilakout] had run out of bullets.' A former Green Card holder, he then spent five months in ICE custody immediately following his release from prison before being set fully free. He was picked up again by ICE agents on January 26 this year - five days after Trump's second inauguration. Pfleger, who teaches history at California State University, Los Angeles, described all eight men sent to Africa as 'criminals convicted of heinous crimes.' Over the years, the mother-of-two was determined to attend parole hearings for her mother's killers which she described as a 'traumatic' experience. She recalled long drives to be in person for Nilakout's hearings. 'I had two small children at the time, but I took time off from work and time away from my family,' she said. 'I'm this very normal law abiding person. I'd never been close to a prison. That was all very weird.' When one of Nilakout's two accomplices was granted parole 'there was nothing I could do. The parole officers actually said, 'Our hands are tied.'' Pfleger criticized the parole process as 'entirely meaningless when it comes to the victim's input. 'They've now changed things to the point where you can't even talk about the actual crime. It's all about what has the inmate done since being incarcerated. No one asks about the permanent consequences, pain, suffering of the victims.' Despite the deep frustration and disappointment, she has 'made peace' with Nilakout's release from prison. But she has not revealed to her father the updates regarding the three men convicted of his wife's murder as it would be too upsetting for him. 'He has has social anxiety,' she said. 'He's never recovered.' She added: 'When it came to the parole hearings, I knew that I owed this to my dad. I owe it to the memory of my mom. I owe this to my kids who never got to meet their grandmother. I did everything I could for them not to get out.' Judge Murphy, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, said the U.S. government must 'maintain custody and control of class members currently being removed to South Sudan or to any other third country, to ensure the practical feasibility of return if the Court finds that such removals were unlawful.' He sensationally warned that the administration officials who enabled the deportations to South Sudan of Nilakout and the seven others could potentially face criminal penalties. Federal law specifically prohibits the government from deporting people to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened because of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion or where they fear they would face torture. 'I wasn't jumping for joy when I heard that he was on that plane to go to South Sudan,' admitted Pfleger. 'It's a problem when someone's due process rights are violated. Either we have these rights and they apply to everyone - or we don't. 'It's dangerous when we don't have them and there are somehow these exceptions. Everyone who is in this country due process rights regardless of immigration status. 'When a judge says you cannot be deported right now, you have the right to object. You have the right to consult with an attorney. When that doesn't happen then that's a problem.' 'Do I care if he gets released to South Sudan and something happens to him in terms of violence. No, not really. But it's a problem when basic rights are violated by the government. 'Nothing brings my mother back. Nothing eases my dad's pain. He thinks that they're all still in prison. 'Where do you draw the line? Here's a convicted murderer but there's a legal process. Now there's an administration that says, "Screw those laws, screw any orders - we're getting rid of them."'
