On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy ordered the Trump administration to retain custody of a group of migrants deported to South Sudan after receiving strong indications that the government violated a preliminary injunction prohibiting expedited deportations to what are called “third party” countries in the absence of procedural safeguards. According to early reports, the 11 migrants came from Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Pakistan, Korea and Mexico.
Murphy said that although he had not ordered the plane carrying at least 11 migrants to reverse course, the latter was an option the Department of Homeland Security could have taken to comply with his order.
The judge, appointed by former Democratic President Joe Biden, said all migrants affected by the injunction must remain in the government’s custody pending a further hearing Wednesday. Failure to do so could result in some DHS officials being held in contempt of court. The magistrate added that the Kristi Noem-led agency could comply with his order in various ways, such as keeping the migrants on board the plane once it lands. “I’m not going to limit DHS on where they hold them,” Murphy said. “If they want to turn the plane around, they can.”
What is certain is that Murphy’s orders mark the beginning of a new clash between Donald Trump’s federal administration and the judiciary.
Last month, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C., also said government officials were in contempt of court for violating his order to halt deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members, Tren de Aragua, who had no way to challenge their deportation in court.
This past weekend, however, the Supreme Court blocked deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law under which “enemies” of the United States can be interned or extradited.
In February, the Department of Homeland Security had ordered immigration officers to review cases of people who had been granted protection against deportation in their home countries to see if they could be detained again and sent to another nation.
On April 18, Murphy issued a preliminary injunction designed to ensure that all of the relocated migrants would be afforded due process under the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment and a “meaningful opportunity” to express any concerns for their safety.
In a motion filed Tuesday morning, lawyers representing some of those affected by the expulsions said about a dozen migrants held in a Texas detention center would be flown to South Sudan, whose conditions have long been dangerous even for locals.
The African country was the scene of a long civil war that claimed the lives of more than 50,000 people until a fragile peace stopped the fighting in 2018. Nevertheless, political instability persists and clashes between rebels and the government continue. Many, including the United Nations, fear the country could plunge back into civil war at any moment.
