Washington, DC (BN24) – The United States has completed the deportation of eight men to South Sudan after protracted legal wrangling that included a Supreme Court showdown and weeks of detention at a U.S. military base in Djibouti, officials announced Saturday.
The immigrants—originally from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Vietnam, and South Sudan—arrived in South Sudan on Friday, fulfilling the Trump administration’s plan to send them to a country the State Department warns Americans to avoid because of widespread crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict.
Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin called the outcome “a win for the rule of law, safety and security of the American people.” Officials said all eight men had been convicted of violent crimes in the United States and were subject to final removal orders.
The transfer followed a series of extraordinary legal twists. In May, the men were placed on a flight bound for South Sudan, but the plane was diverted to Djibouti after a federal judge ruled the administration had violated an order requiring that the men be given an opportunity to challenge their deportation.
For weeks, the men were held under guard in Djibouti, reportedly confined in a converted shipping container at a U.S. base while courts considered their fate.
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled in June that immigration authorities could proceed with expedited deportations to third countries. That decision reversed lower court orders that had temporarily allowed immigrants to contest removals to nations other than their countries of origin.
Even after the high court’s decision, the case continued to wind through the legal system. On Independence Day, a federal judge briefly paused the deportations to weigh an emergency appeal. But by Friday evening, he concluded he was powerless to intervene further, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“The Supreme Court has tied my hands,” the judge wrote in a short decision that effectively cleared the final obstacle to the transfer.
The administration’s decision to deport people to South Sudan drew alarm from human rights advocates, who warned that sending individuals to a country experiencing widespread instability could expose them to serious harm. The State Department currently advises Americans not to travel there due to threats of armed conflict and kidnapping.
Officials said the men were deported under final removal orders issued by immigration judges. In recent years, U.S. authorities have negotiated agreements with other governments to accept deportees if immediate repatriation to their country of citizenship is not feasible.
AP
