Trump administration ‘violated court order on deportations to third countries’
The group was flown out of the United States just hours after getting notice, leaving them no chance to contact lawyers to object in court.
The Trump administration violated a court order on deportations to third countries with a flight linked to the chaotic nation of South Sudan, a federal judge said.
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.
The group was flown out of the United States just hours after getting notice, leaving them no chance to contact lawyers to 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 said that immigration authorities may have misunderstood the order because the judge did not specify the time needed between notice and deportation.
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 just before the court hearing.
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,” Mr 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.
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.
Homeland Security officials released few specific details about the deportation flight.
They said the flight left on Tuesday with eight people on board and that they remained in the department’s custody on 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.
