Judge rules Trump admin’s deportation of immigrants to South Sudan violated court order

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration breached his court order when it sent immigrants — including from Asian countries — to war-torn South Sudan without providing adequate due process.

What happened: Eight men were flown from Texas to South Sudan on Tuesday despite most of them being protected under a federal court injunction. The deportees had been convicted of serious crimes such as homicide, attempted murder, sexual assault and robbery, according to DHS officials. Two of them, originally from Myanmar and Vietnam, have attorneys who reportedly learned Monday evening about the removal plan and discovered by Tuesday morning that they were already on their way to the African nation. Authorities characterized the mission as having both diplomatic and military components but refused to specify the exact destination, citing security concerns.

Judge responds: U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy said the government’s conduct clearly breached his court directive, noting that the advance notification was inadequate for proper legal challenge. He cautioned that officials could face criminal contempt charges for violating his April order that mandates substantial opportunity to challenge removal to non-origin countries. The judge directed the government to conduct fear assessment interviews for six individuals and provide them no less than 15 days to reopen their immigration cases if their safety concerns are found insufficient.

The big picture: The decision appears to be one of the most forceful judicial criticisms of the second Trump administration’s actions on immigration to date. The matter follows previous blocked removal efforts to Libya, where rival governments both declined the proposal. In response to the matter, the White House labeled Murphy “a far-left activist judge” while DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin described his decision as “deranged,” claiming he was attempting to “dictate the foreign policy and national security” of the U.S.