On May 20 U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Boston demanded that federal officials maintain custody over about a dozen migrants who were deported earlier in the day to South Sudan. The migrants needed to stay in U.S. custody to ensure that they could easily be returned, should the judge rule that their attempted deportation was unlawful. This same judge had ruled on May 7 against the deportation of migrants to third countries without due process. The judge included in due process the demand that immigration officials make clear to potential deportees the charges against them and how they could legally challenge those charges—and if necessary this all should be explained in their native language. The judge warned a Justice Department lawyer that any violation of that court order may “constitute criminal contempt.” At least one of the deportees refused to sign the deportation documents because he did not understand the document due to his lack of proficiency in the English language. The judge was responding to court filings from lawyers representing the deported individuals.
Officially South Sudan will not accept deportees from third countries and will deport any such individuals to their legal homeland. South Sudan is the youngest country in the world, declaring independence in 2011, and has seen war and famine since then. The U.S. government is attempting to send these migrants to South Sudan despite the fact that the U.S. State Department has issued a “travel advisory for South Sudan” which states, “Do not travel to South Sudan due to crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict.”
