Judge challenges US deportation of Asians to conflict-plagued South Sudan
Judge says US officials must keep control of migrants sent to African nation in case removals are unlawful
A judge has ordered US officials to appear at an emergency hearing on Wednesday to answer questions about their apparent deportation of immigrants to South Sudan and other countries.
A US federal judge ruled late on Tuesday that US officials must retain custody and control of migrants apparently removed to South Sudan in case he ordered their removals were unlawful.
US District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Massachusetts issued the ruling after an emergency hearing, after lawyers for immigrants said the Trump administration appeared to have begun deporting people from Myanmar and Vietnam to South Sudan – despite a court order restricting removals to other countries.
Murphy said the 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 Murphy left the details to the government’s discretion, he said he expected the migrants “will be treated humanely”.
Lawyers for the migrants told the judge that immigration authorities may have sent up to a dozen people from several countries to Africa, which they argued 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.