Judge Says U.S. Broke Court Order by Deporting Migrants Without Due Process

A federal judge said the U.S. broke his order when it deported eight men to South Sudan. He said they were not given a fair chance to speak up before being removed.

Judge Brian Murphy made the statement on Wednesday. It followed his order the day before, which told U.S. officials to keep the men in custody. He was worried they had been sent to another country without a fair process.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the men had committed serious crimes like murder. They also said South Sudan was not the final stop for these men.

At a hearing, Judge Murphy said DHS clearly broke the court’s order. “I don’t see how anyone could say these men had a real chance to object,” he said.

Lawyers from the Justice Department said the judge’s order was unclear and may have caused confusion.

Earlier, a Justice lawyer confirmed the men had landed somewhere. But the lawyer did not say where, citing safety reasons.

The judge said he would decide later if DHS officials would face punishment for ignoring the court order.

On Wednesday, DHS posted photos and details of the eight men online. They came from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, South Sudan, Myanmar, and Vietnam. DHS said they had committed very serious crimes like rape and murder.

A DHS spokesperson said, “It’s absurd for a U.S. judge to try to control the country’s foreign policy and safety.”

An ICE director said if a country won’t take its citizens back, the U.S. can send them to another safe country. But he didn’t say where these men were going.

On April 18, Judge Murphy ruled that people must have a fair chance to challenge being sent to a country that is not their own.

When he learned that the men were on a plane out of the U.S., he quickly ordered a hearing. He said they must stay in custody and be treated well. But he did not order the plane to return.

One of the deported men was Nyo Myint from Myanmar. He had been convicted of sexual assault and was sentenced to 12 years. He was detained in Texas in February. A court had ordered him to be removed in August 2023.

His lawyer, Jonathan Ryan, said Myint got two different deportation notices on May 19. The first said he would go to South Africa. Hours later, another said he was going to South Sudan. Both notices were in English, a language Myint barely understands.

On Tuesday, Ryan learned that Myint had been deported. He said, “I have no idea where he is. The U.S. government has made him disappear.”

Ryan said his client had done wrong, but still had the right to due process. He also said the government picked these men to distract from the fact that it broke a court order.

“If we let the government choose who has rights, then none of us really have rights,” Ryan said.

The U.S. is speeding up deportations and is working with other countries to take in both their own citizens and people from other countries. It has sent some Venezuelans to a prison in El Salvador.

Rwanda said it was in talks with the U.S. about this plan. Media reports have also named Benin, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, and Moldova.

In April, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. would cancel visas for South Sudanese people. That country was refusing to take back its own citizens who had been deported.