Trump DHS Caught In New Scandal

Last month, Judge Murphy ruled that the Trump administration could not deport individuals to so-called “third-party countries” countries that are not their place of origin without first giving them a real chance to contest their removal on the grounds that they could face death or torture. Despite that ruling, the administration deported several individuals to South Sudan on Tuesday morning, giving them only about 12 hours’ notice and no access to legal counsel beforehand.

South Sudan, located in East Africa, remains one of the most unstable and dangerous countries in the world, marked by ongoing ethnic conflict and severe food shortages. The U.S. State Department has long warned Americans against traveling there.

Judge Murphy, during a court hearing held the following day, said the administration’s actions did not meet the standards set in his April decision. Although his earlier ruling did not define a specific timeframe for notice, he called the 12-hour warning “obviously insufficient.”

The hearing took place while the deported individuals were still aboard a plane in South Sudan. On Tuesday, the judge had ordered that none of them be formally released from U.S. custody without his explicit authorization.

Murphy indicated that he might later examine whether the administration’s conduct rose to the level of criminal contempt, but said he would make that decision at another time.

Earlier that same day, senior Trump administration officials held a press conference in Washington, where they openly criticized Murphy. They accused what they called “a local judge in Massachusetts” of trying to reverse deportations they described as vital to national security and public safety.

Flanked by images of the deported individuals, Homeland Security officials framed the deportations as the outcome of a classified diplomatic and military operation. They also disclosed that all of those deported had been convicted of serious crimes in the U.S., including rape and murder.

“It is absolutely absurd for a district judge to try to dictate the foreign policy and national security of the United States of America,” said DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. “These are the monsters that the district judge is trying to protect.”

Justice Department lawyers argued that the deportations were consistent with a 2020 Supreme Court ruling that upheld fast-track removals for certain non-citizens, including cases where removal occurred within hours of apprehension.

But Murphy rejected the comparison, noting that the previous case involved a Sri Lankan citizen caught at the border and was “not remotely similar” to the situation at hand, where seven men were suddenly deported to a high-risk nation.

The individuals deported to South Sudan on Tuesday included two from Cuba, two from Myanmar, one from Laos, one from Mexico, and one from Vietnam. One South Sudanese citizen was also on board. DHS officials stated the men had been arrested by immigration authorities between January and early May.