BOSTON — The Trump administration “unquestionably” violated a court order when it put seven men on a deportation flight bound for South Sudan, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, suggesting that administration officials may have committed criminal contempt.
“It was impossible for these people to have a meaningful opportunity to object to their transfer to South Sudan,” said Murphy, a Biden appointee.
The men were told they were being sent to South Sudan, one of the most dangerous and war-torn nations on Earth.
South Sudan, a landlocked country in East Africa, is plagued by a food shortage, ethnic conflict and violent crime.
A police spokesperson in South Sudan, Maj. Gen. James Monday Enoka, told the Associated Press Wednesday that no migrants had arrived in the country.
BOSTON — A federal judge said Wednesday that the Trump administration “unquestionably” broke a court order when it placed seven men on a flight for deportation to South Sudan, raising the possibility that administration officials were in criminal contempt.
The censure from U. A. The administration and the judiciary are at odds over President Donald Trump’s plan to carry out swift deportations without going through the legal system, and District Judge Brian Murphy is the most recent development in this conflict.
Now, three federal judges have blasted the administration for evading or flatly disobeying court orders that attempted to halt or undo parts of Trump’s deportation agenda. The administration has also come under fire from a number of other sources, including the majority of the Supreme Court, for trying to infringe on the rights of immigrants to due process.
Murphy accused immigration officials during a court hearing on Wednesday of disobeying his previous orders to give “meaningful” due process to those the administration is attempting to deport to nations where they have no connections and may be subject to violence.
Murphy, a Biden appointee, claimed that “these people could not have had a meaningful opportunity to object to their transfer to South Sudan.”.
Murphy last month prohibited the Trump administration from sending individuals to so-called “third-party countries” instead of their home countries without first providing them with a meaningful opportunity to contest their deportation on the grounds that they could be tortured or killed there. The administration gathered detainees being held in immigration custody in Texas on Tuesday morning and placed them on a plane for deportation in spite of that ruling. South Sudan, one of the world’s most dangerous and war-torn countries, was the destination to which the men were informed. They were unable to speak with their attorneys and were only given roughly twelve hours’ notice before being deported.
The landlocked nation of South Sudan in East Africa is beset by violent crime, ethnic conflict, and a lack of food. The State Department advises Americans to stay away from that country.
Although Homeland Security officials informed the deportees that South Sudan was their destination, they later refused to confirm whether the plane had reached that location or had landed somewhere else while Murphy contemplated ordering the plane’s return.
A South Sudanese police spokesperson, Maj. Gen. No migrants have entered the nation, James Monday Enoka told the Associated Press on Wednesday. Enoka stated that if it turns out that any arriving deportees are not South Sudanese, they will be looked into and “re-deported to their correct country,” according to AP.
Murphy’s April ruling’s due process requirements were severely violated by the hurried deportations, the judge said on Wednesday.
Although Murphy admitted that his April decision did not specify a minimum amount of advance notice prior to initiating third-country deportations, he stated, “I think it to be obviously insufficient.”.
The deported men reportedly sat on the plane after it landed, which is when the hearing took place. On Tuesday, the judge issued an emergency order prohibiting their release from U. S. . custody without his consent. .
Murphy clarified that directive late Wednesday, stating that each of the deported men must be interviewed by the Department of Homeland Security to ascertain whether they have a “reasonable fear” of being tortured or killed in South Sudan. DHS may carry out those interviews domestically or overseas, but Murphy decided that officials had to keep the men in custody during the entire process. The government must attempt to reopen its deportation proceedings in immigration court, probably requiring the deportees’ return to the United States, if their fear is judged to be legitimate.
In addition to citing the order violation, Murphy broadened his prohibition on deportations to third-party nations by stating that those who are targeted for deportation to these nations must be given at least 10 days to express concerns about torture.
Murphy was asked to order the plane back to the United States by the men’s attorneys. That request was not immediately granted by the judge, who stated that he was still thinking about how to properly inform the men of their right to protest their transfer to South Sudan. The international Convention Against Torture protects foreign nationals from being sent to nations where they may be subjected to torture.
Murphy added that he would think about whether the administration’s actions were “criminally contemptuous,” but he would wait until later to make that decision.
The administration’s deportations are “in full compliance with all court orders,” according to a White House spokesperson on Wednesday. “.”.
According to spokesperson Abigail Jackson, “a Massachusetts District Court Judge has apparently decided that he — not the President, nor Congress — gets to say if the executive branch removes convicted murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and other dangerous illegal aliens from the United States.”. We have faith that what we are doing is lawful, and we don’t regret taking action to defend the American people. “”.
The judge met with attorneys from both sides behind closed doors for over forty-five minutes prior to the public hearing on Wednesday. This was after a government attorney warned of “serious operational concerns” with keeping the plane on the ground with U.S. S. . immigration officials and the deportees on board.
Senior Trump administration officials criticized Murphy during a press conference earlier in the day in Washington, claiming that “a local judge in Massachusetts” was “trying to force the United States to bring back these uniquely barbaric monsters.”. “.”.
Speaking in front of pictures of the men who had been deported, senior Homeland Security officials explained that the deportations were the result of a continuous “diplomatic and military” operation that was still partially classified. However, they said that all of the deported men had been found guilty of violent, serious crimes like rape and murder. The administration later made public their names and backgrounds.
A district judge trying to control the foreign policy and national security of the United States of America is completely ridiculous, according to DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. The district judge is attempting to protect these monsters. “.”.
At the hearing, Justice Department lawyers cited a 2020 Supreme Court ruling that supported expedited deportation processes for certain foreign nationals, which they claimed led to their removal from the nation in a matter of hours.
Murphy, however, stated that the circumstances surrounding the seven deportees’ sudden transfer to South Sudan were “not remotely similar” to the incident involving a Sri Lankan national who was stopped at the Mexican border.
The seven men who were sent to South Sudan on Tuesday include two Cubans, two Myanmar nationals, one Laotian, one Mexican, and one Vietnamese. DHS officials reported that one South Sudanese national was also on the flight. The U.S. immigration authorities arrested the deportees. S. . according to the officials, between January and earlier this month.
Murphy pointed out that the Supreme Court ruled last week in a case contesting President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act that a 24-hour notice of deportation was not enough to give a real chance to challenge it.
According to the Supreme Court’s majority ruling, “Notice given approximately 24 hours prior to removal, without information on how to exercise due process rights to contest that removal, certainly does not pass muster.”.
Since the president’s return to the White House in January, the Trump administration has been accused of repeatedly disobeying court orders.
Regarding the administration’s handling of deportation flights in March that the judge ordered halted and returned to the United States, a federal judge in Washington is contemplating initiating contempt proceedings. S. . Additionally, a Maryland federal judge has stated that she feels the administration is not carrying out her directive to expedite the release and return to the United States. S. of a Salvadoran man who, in spite of an immigration court order prohibiting it, was sent back home.
Additionally, the administration has been accused of sluggishly complying with court orders that restored funding for a number of grant programs that judges had ordered to be reinstated.
Despite his harsh criticism of many court orders and the judges who issued them, Trump has stated that the administration abides by them.
From Boston, Garrity reported. Washington was where Cheney and Gerstein reported.
