Federal judge orders Trump administration to keep immigrants deported to South Sudan in custody, warns of possible contempt

A federal judge in Boston ordered on Tuesday that immigrants deported to South Sudan must remain in the custody of U.S. immigration authorities, after he concluded that such deportations violate a previous court order protecting people at risk of persecution or torture.

The decision was issued by Judge Brian Murphy, appointed by former President Joe Biden, who previously issued an injunction in April that prohibited the government from executing deportations to third-world countries without first guaranteeing due process to the deportees.

Several of the deportees have significant criminal records, according to the Department of Justice.

According to the plaintiff attorneys, at least a dozen people, from countries such as Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Pakistan, Thailand and Mexico, were sent to Africa without a chance to challenge their removal, which would constitute a violation of due process, they argued.

"I have a strong indication that my preliminary injunction order has been violated," Judge Murphy said during an emergency hearing convened Tuesday.

While the judge did not compel the federal government to order the plane's return, he clarified that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could use that avenue to comply with the order. He also said immigrants could be held even inside the plane once it lands.

"I'm not going to limit DHS on where they hold them. If they want to turn the plane around, they can," the judge said.

Elianis Perez, a lawyer for the  Department of Justice, said that among the cases noted was that of a Vietnamese man convicted of murder, whose wife claimed that he was deported along with 10 other migrants from a detention center in Texas. The defense of a Myanmar national filed the same complaint. However, the government later changed its version and claimed that he was sent to his country of origin, something that "defies logic," according to the plaintiffs' lawyers.

A senior DHS official also said that among those deported was at least one rapist.

The Trump administration, which is also facing legal challenges over deportations of immigrants to other third-world third-world countries like El Salvador, did not respond to requests for comment. However, Judge Murphy warned that, if violations of the order are confirmed, the federal officials involved could face criminal contempt charges.

South Sudan is a country considered by the Department of State itself as a very dangerous destination due to "gross human rights violations" perpetrated, including arbitrary killings, torture and general violence.

The UN warned that the country could slip back into full-scale civil war.

Based on the reality of South Sudan, the judge reiterated that the U.S. Constitution guarantees anyone on U.S. soil the ability to argue why they should not be deported to a country where their life may be at risk.