Latest news with #ThongxayNilakout
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- 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."'
San Francisco Chronicle
22-05-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
A look at the deportees on plane that headed for South Sudan from US
The foreign men convicted of crimes who were placed on a deportation flight headed for the chaotic nation of South Sudan were originally from countries as far away as Mexico and Vietnam. They had lived in various places from California to Iowa, Nebraska to Florida, with one serving a sentence of nearly 30 years. They were accused and convicted of crimes ranging from murder, to rape, robbery and assault. Despite their criminal records, a federal judge says the White House violated a court order on deportations to third countries, adding these eight migrants aboard the plane were not given a meaningful opportunity to object that the deportation could put them in danger. Judge Brian E. Murphy in Boston ordered a new set of interviews with the migrants, either back in the U.S. or abroad. Trump administration officials accused 'activist judges' of advocating the release of dangerous criminals. 'No country on Earth wanted to accept them because their crimes are so uniquely monstrous and barbaric,' said Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security. These are the migrants who were part of the deportation flight. The only man from South Sudan on the flight was 33-year-old Dian Peter Domach. He was convicted in 2013 of robbery, for which he was sentenced to 8 to 14 years in prison; and of possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person, for which he was sentenced to 6 to 10 years. Those sentences were to be served one after the other. The Department of Homeland Security said Domach was also convicted of driving under the influence. While in prison, he was convicted of 'assault by a confined person' and sentenced to an additional 18 to 20 months. According to the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, Domach was released on 'discretionary parole' on May 2 and arrested by immigration authorities six days later. Records said he represented himself on appeal and in the most recent prison assault case. LAOS: Thongxay Nilakout One of the two deportees with life sentences is 48-year-old Thongxay Nilakout from Laos. He was convicted of killing a German tourist and wounding her husband in 1994 when he was 17. The couple was visiting a popular tourist lookout east of Los Angeles during a trip to see their daughter. Nilakout was sentenced to life in prison but was released in 2023 after his case was reviewed following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said mandatory life sentences for minors were unconstitutional. He was arrested by immigration authorities in January. MYANMAR: Kyaw Mya Kyaw Mya, a man from Myanmar who lived in Iowa, was convicted of sexually abusing a child under 12 years of age and sentenced to 10 years in prison, according to the Department of Homeland Security. He was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in February. An attorney for Mya did not respond to phone calls seeking comment. MYANMAR: Nyo Myint Nyo Myint, another Burmese deportee, lived in Lincoln, Nebraska. He was accused in 2017 of sexually assaulting a 26-year-old woman with 'diminished mental capacity' who ended up pregnant. The woman's sister said the victim had a mental capacity equal to a 3-year-old and that Myint had told her he was the child's father. An arrest affidavit filed by the police said Myint admitted to having sex with the woman at least two times, saying he knew her since 2003 and knew she had gone to a school for children with mental disabilities. He admitted he made a mistake and felt it was wrong to have sex with her. He was given a 12- to 14-year prison sentence in 2020 but released on probation in May 2023. ICE took custody of Myint in February. Nathan Sohriakoff remembers defending Myint in the Nebraska case and communicating with him via interpreters. He hadn't heard he was part of the deportee group, which Trump administration officials are calling 'barbaric monsters.' 'He was a small man, very petite. He didn't speak a word of English and didn't resist the charges,' Sohriakoff said. 'I don't remember feeling like he was dangerous. My general feeling of him was that he was limited in his ability as well, like cognitively, but not to the degree that I felt he was incompetent.' VIETNAM: Tuan Thanh Phan The Department of Homeland Security says the flight included a Vietnamese man. Tuan Thanh Phan was convicted of first-degree murder and second-degree assault and sentenced to 22 years in prison. He was arrested by ICE earlier this month. CUBA: Enrique Arias-Hierro and Jose Manuel Rodriguez-Quiñones The Department of Homeland Security says the flight included two men from Cuba: Enrique Arias-Hierro and Jose Manuel Rodriguez-Quiñones. Florida court records show Arias-Hierro, now 46, served 15 years in a state prison after being convicted of robbery, kidnapping and falsely impersonating an officer. Homeland Security officials say he was also convicted of homicide and armed robbery, but the records in Miami-Dade County did not include that. The attorney who last served as his public defender in 2024 did not respond to an email and phone call seeking comment. Arias-Hierro was taken by ICE earlier this month. There was no further information immediately available on Rodriguez-Quiñones. A Mexican man was also placed on the deportation flight. The Department of Homeland Security says Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. It was unclear why he would be flown to South Sudan or beyond when Mexico is just south of the United States.
New York Post
21-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Trump admin says it's deporting 8 ‘monstrous and barbaric' illegal migrants to one of the poorest countries on Earth
The Trump administration said it has deported at least eight violent illegal migrants to one of the poorest nations on Earth — with their crimes being so 'monstrous and barbaric' that no other country would apparently take them, a Trump administration official told The Post Wednesday. The migrants were put on a flight to South Sudan — a violence-plagued African country — over the objections of a federal judge. South Sudanese officials have also objected to the flight. Advertisement Of the eight felons, only one is a native of South Sudan. The others are from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar and Vietnam. 'We conducted a deportation flight from Texas to remove some of the most barbaric, violent individuals illegally in the United States,' Homeland Security said in an X post announcing the latest migrant removals. 'No country on earth wanted to accept them because their crimes are so uniquely monstrous and barbaric.' Advertisement 3 Enrique Arias-Hierro, Jose Manuel Rodriguez-Quinones, Thongxay Nilakout, Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez, Dian Peter Domach, Kyaw Mya, Nyo Myint and Tuan Thanh Phan were all deported to South Sudan, an official said. The migrants — who were convicted of crimes ranging from murder to child sex abuse — were all recently shipped off to the African nation, a senior administration official said. It wasn't immediately clear whether the flight had arrived in South Sudan. The New York Times reported the plane carrying the migrants had temporarily landed at a US military base in Djibouti. Among the deportees was Nyo Myint, a Burmese sex offender, who was convicted of first-degree sexual assault involving a victim mentally and physically incapable of resisting. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison over the 2017 assault in Nebraska, officials said. Advertisement 3 Among them was Nyo Myint, a Burmese sex offender, who was convicted of first-degree sexual assault involving a victim mentally and physically incapable of resisting. Department of Homeland Security / X Thongxay Nilakout, a citizen of Laos, was also booted from the US after serving a nearly three decade sentence for the brutal 1994 execution of a German tourist in California, according to the officials. News of the deportations emerged after a federal judge ruled late Tuesday that US officials must retain custody and control of migrants removed to the African country — or any other — in case he orders their removals were unlawful. US District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Massachusetts handed down the ruling after immigration advocates said the Trump administration had started booting the migrants — despite a court order restricting removals to other countries. Advertisement 3 Thongxay Nilakout, a citizen of Laos, was also booted from the US after serving a nearly three decade sentence for the brutal 1994 execution of a German tourist in California. Department of Homeland Security / X The attorneys had argued the deportation flights violated a court order saying people must get a 'meaningful opportunity' to argue that sending them to a country outside their homeland would be a threat to their safety. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin insisted Wednesday that the administration was acting lawfully and had given 'plenty of prior notice' to the migrants and their attorneys about their deportations. 'It is absolutely absurd for a district judge to try to dictate the foreign policy and national security of the United States,' McLaughlin said. Meanwhile, police in South Sudan said earlier Wednesday that no migrants had yet to arrive in the country. Major General James Monday Enoka said that if any migrants did touch down, they would be investigated and 're-deported to their correct country' if they're found not to be South Sudanese. With Post wires
Fox News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
DHS exposes crimes by migrants deported to South Sudan as judge threatens to order their return
EXCLUSIVE: A Biden-appointed federal judge could decide Wednesday morning that a plane carrying illegal immigrants convicted of serious crimes to South Sudan has to return. The plane is carrying eight men – all of whom are convicted of crimes ranging from homicide to robbery, according to details exclusively provided by the Department of Homeland Security. The DHS says they have been compliant with all court orders to date. "No country on earth wanted to accept [the migrants] because their crimes are so uniquely monstrous and barbaric," Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said at a press conference Wednesday. "These heinous individuals have terrorized American streets for too long." Cuban citizen Enrique Arias-Hierro is convicted of homicide, armed robbery, false impersonation of an official, kidnapping, and robbery strong arm. He was arrested on May 2 by ICE. Another Cuban citizen, Jose Manuel Rodriguez-Quinones, was arrested by ICE on April 30, and he's convicted of first-degree murder with a weapon, battery and larceny, as well as cocaine possession and cocaine trafficking. Thongxay Nilakout, a Laos citizen who was convicted of first-degree murder and robbery and was sentenced to life behind bars, is also on the flight. He was arrested in January by ICE. Mexican citizen Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez is convicted of second-degree murder, and was taken into ICE custody earlier this month. Dian Peter Domach of South Sudan is convicted of a DUI, "possession of burglar's tools and possession of defaced firearm; sentenced to 18 months confinement" and "robbery and possession of a firearm; sentenced to 8 years confinement." He was arrested by ICE earlier this month. Two Burmese citizens, Kyaw Mya and Nyo Myint, are also headed to the African nation on the flight. Mya is convicted of "Lascivious Acts with a Child-Victim less than 12 years of age." He was sentenced to 10 years behind bars, but he was paroled after four years. Myint is convicted of "first-degree sexual assault involving a victim mentally and physically incapable of resisting" and faced 12 years behind bars. He was also charged with "aggravated assault-nonfamily strongarm." Both were arrested by ICE in February. Vietnamese citizen Tuan Thanh Phan, a citizen of Vietnam is convicted of "first-degree murder and second-degree assault." U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Massachusetts, a Biden appointee, ruled on Tuesday night that the Trump administration must maintain custody of the migrants in case he rules their removal unlawful, and they must be transferred back to the U.S. Lawyers for illegal immigrants from Myanmar, also called Burma, and Vietnam accused the Trump administration of illegally deporting their clients to third-party countries. They argue the deportations violated Murphy's previous court order mandating that migrants be granted "meaningful opportunity" to establish that sending them to a third country would make them unsafe. Murphy previously found that any plans to deport people to Libya without notice would "clearly" violate his ruling regarding third-party deportations, which also applies to people who have otherwise exhausted their legal appeals.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The 'bad hombre' migrants Trump is deporting to South Sudan revealed as judge calls emergency hearing
Migrants deported to South Sudan by Donald Trump include murderers and sexual abusers, the Daily Mail can reveal. It came as a federal judge ruled that U.S. officials must retain custody and control of the migrants in case he orders their removals were unlawful. U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Massachusetts issued the ruling late Tuesday after an emergency hearing. Attorneys for the immigrants said the Trump administration appeared to have begun deporting people from Burma and Vietnam to South Sudan despite a court order restricting removals to other countries. The Daily Mail can now reveal that the migrants include at least five murderers and a pedophile. One is a citizen of south Sudan and others are from Cuba, Mexico, Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos. They include Thongxay Nilakout, from Burma, who was convicted of murder after the high-profile 1994 killing of Gisela Pfleger, a German tourist in California. He was jailed for life in California in 1996 and arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in January this year before being put on a plane to South Sudan. A U.S. official described Nilakout and the others as 'bad hombres.' They also included Nyo Myint, a citizen of Burma. He was convicted of first-degree sexual assault involving a victim mentally and physically incapable of resisting, and sentenced to 12 years confinement. He was arrested by ICE on February 19, 2025. 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.' While the judge left the details to the government's discretion, he said he expects the migrants "will be treated humanely." At the emergency hearing attorneys for the migrants told the judge that immigration authorities may have sent up to a dozen people from several countries to Africa. They argue that violates a court order saying people must get a 'meaningful opportunity' to argue that sending them to a country outside their homeland would threaten their safety. The apparent removal of one man from Burma 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 attorneys learned of the plan hours before his deportation flight, the lawyers said. A woman also reported that her husband from Vietnam and up to 10 other people were flown to Africa Tuesday morning, attorneys from the National Immigration Litigation Alliance wrote. The migrants' attorneys asked Murphy for an emergency court order to prevent the deportations. The judge previously found that any plans to deport people to Libya without notice would 'clearly' violate his ruling. He ordered U.S. officials from the Trump administration to appear at another emergency hearing Wednesday to answer questions about the deportation of immigrants to South Sudan and other countries.
