Judge Halts Trump Administration's Deportations to South Sudan and Vietnam

A Massachusetts judge, Brian E. Murphy, issued a ruling on Tuesday night halting the Trump administration's deportations of immigrants to South Sudan and Vietnam. The decision came after an emergency hearing where immigrant advocates accused the administration of violating a court order. Lawyers claimed the administration had begun deporting nationals of Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Vietnam. Judge Murphy stated that the government must maintain custody and control of the immigrants being removed to South Sudan or any other third country. This is to ensure their return is possible if the court finds the removals were illegal. While leaving the details to the government's discretion, Murphy expressed his expectation that the immigrants would be treated humanely. The judge ordered U.S. authorities to appear in court to identify the affected immigrants. They must address when and how they learned of their removal to a third country. They also must explain what opportunity they were given to appeal. Murphy also demanded information on the whereabouts of migrants already deported. The Department of Homeland Security allegedly deported at least a dozen nationals from various countries to South Sudan. According to court documents, an immigration official in Texas confirmed that at least one man from Myanmar was flown to South Sudan on Tuesday morning. A woman reported that her husband, a Vietnamese citizen, was also flown to the same African country along with ten other immigrants from third countries. Lawyers from the National Immigration Litigation Alliance argued that these deportations violate a court order. The order requires that any immigrant deported to a state other than their country of origin must first be able to argue about potential risks to their safety. South Sudan has seen renewed clashes between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and the armed wing of the party of Vice President Riek Machar. Escalating violence followed Machar's arrest in late March, raising fears of a new civil war. A bloody conflict between supporters of the two leaders killed around 400,000 people and displaced four million between 2013 and 2018. On May 8, the same judge warned the Trump administration that deporting immigrants to Libya without a chance to appeal violates court orders.