Boston judge says Trump administration violated court order on deportations to South Sudan, other countries

WASHINGTON AP 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 announced Wednesday Judge Brian E Murphy in Boston mentioned the eight displaced persons aboard the plane weren t 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 Ruling body 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 announced that immigration leadership may have misunderstood the order because the judge didn t specify the time needed between notice and deportation THIS IS A LATEST NEWS UPDATE AP s earlier story follows below WASHINGTON AP The Trump administration declared Wednesday it had deported eight asylum seekers convicted of violent crimes in the United States but refused to reveal where they would end up a disclosure made as a judge ordered ruling body representatives to appear at an emergency hearing to address reports that immigrants had been sent to South Sudan Minutes before the hearing leaders accused activist judges of advocating the release of dangerous criminals The newcomers 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 in Massachusetts He later mentioned the displaced persons 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 safeguard threats Lyons declared at a news conference Behind him was a display of photos of men he noted had been convicted of rape homicide armed robbery and other crimes President Donald Trump and Homeland Precaution 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 stated Tricia McLaughlin a department spokesperson Homeland Guard agents circulated minimal specific details about the deportation flight They declared the flight left Tuesday with eight people on board and that they remained in the department s custody Wednesday Leaders noted they could not disclose the settlers final destination because of safety and operational measure The matter 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 Lawsuits on immigration issues are everywhere With Congress largely silent or supportive opponents of Trump s agenda have filed hundreds of lawsuits and judges have issued dozens of orders against the administration Immigration has been the most of contentious issue There is the mistaken deportation of an immigration who was living in Maryland to a prison in El Salvador as well as Trump s push to swiftly deport alleged Venezuelan gang members without a court review We see activist judges stepping in in a way that we have never seen before to put criminals first and not the American people Madison Sheahan the ICE deputy director commented at the news conference The administration bureaucrats insisted that the men had received due process but did not provide any details Immigration rights lawyers have stated that the deportations violated a court order against sending people to countries other than their homelands without first allowing them to argue the removal could put them in danger U S District Judge Brian E Murphy in Boston ruled Tuesday that the administration must retain custody and control of those now being removed to South Sudan or to any other third country to ensure the practical feasibility of return if he finds such removals were unlawful Lawyers for immigrants stated the administration appeared to have begun deporting people from Myanmar and Vietnam to South Sudan despite a court order restricting removals to other countries The judge left the details to the establishment s discretion but announced he expects the foreigners will be treated humanely The countries of origin vary Attorneys for the refugees recounted the judge that immigration administration may have sent as countless as a dozen people from several countries to Africa The lawyers say that violates a court order that people have a meaningful opportunity to argue that sending them to a country outside their homeland would threaten their safety The apparent removal of one man from the troubled Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar was authenticated in an email from an immigration official in Texas according to court documents He was informed only in English a language he does not speak well and his lawyers learned of the plan hours before his deportation flight they noted A woman also stated that her husband from Vietnam and up to other people were flown to Africa on Tuesday morning attorneys from the National Immigration Litigation Alliance wrote The lawyers inquired Murphy for an exigency court order to prevent the deportations Murphy who was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden previously revealed that any plans to deport people to Libya without notice would clearly violate his ruling which also applies to people who have otherwise exhausted their legal appeals Murphy summoned U S leaders to court Wednesday to identify the expatriates impacted address when and how they learned they would be removed to a third country and what opportunity they were given to raise a fear-based claim He also ruled that the regime must provide information about the whereabouts of the expatriates apparently already removed South Sudan says it s unaware of any arrivals South Sudan s police spokesperson Maj Gen James Monday Enoka communicated The Associated Press on Wednesday that no transients had arrived in the country and that if they do they would be investigated and redeported to their correct country if exposed not to be South Sudanese Particular countries do not accept deportations from the United States That has led the administration to strike agreements with other countries including Panama to house them The U S has sent Venezuelans to a notorious prison in El Salvador under an th-century wartime law an action being contested in the courts South Sudan has endured repeated waves of violence since gaining independence from Sudan in amid hopes it could use its large oil reserves to bring prosperity to a region long battered by poverty Just weeks ago the country s top U N official warned that fighting between forces loyal to the president and a vice president threatened to spiral again into full-scale civil war The situation is darkly reminiscent of the and conflicts which took over lives declared Nicholas Haysom head of the almost -strong U N peacekeeping mission The State Department s annual overview on South Sudan published in April says vital human rights issues include arbitrary killings disappearances torture or inhumane recovery by safeguard forces and extensive violence based on gender and sexual identity The Homeland Protection Department has given Temporary Protected Status to a small number of South Sudanese already living in the United States shielding them from deportation because conditions were deemed unsafe for return Noem of late extended those protections to November to allow for a more thorough review South Sudan s diplomatic relations with the United States grew tense in April when a deportation row led to the revocation of visas and a ban on South Sudanese nationals The U S is one of the biggest donors to South Sudan s humanitarian aid programs with the total funding in standing at over million according to the U S embassy in South Sudan This is a emerging news story stay with NEWS on-air and online for the latest details