Eight Migrants Sent to South Sudan Despite Safety Concerns

Eight individuals held in Djibouti were sent to South Sudan, a country known for its instability and violence. This happened after a judge in Massachusetts refused to stop their deportation. The migrants' lawyers had asked for an emergency block, arguing that their clients could face torture and other dangers in South Sudan. The judge, Brian E. Murphy, said he had to follow a recent Supreme Court decision that allowed the deportation to go ahead. He believed the migrants' lawyers were making similar arguments that the Supreme Court had already decided on. The Department of Homeland Security celebrated the decision, calling the migrants "barbaric criminals" and claiming that activist judges had delayed their removal. The migrants' lawyers argued that sending them to South Sudan would be unfair and dangerous. They said the migrants had already served their sentences and that this deportation was like giving them extra punishment. A lawyer even said this was something the U. S. had never done before with deportations. The Justice Department, however, said the migrants' lawyers should have filed their claims earlier and in a different court. They also said the migrants' legal team was trying to delay the deportation and that this could hurt U. S. diplomatic relations. The eight migrants are from different countries, including Myanmar, Sudan, Mexico, Vietnam, Laos, and Cuba. The U. S. has been quickly deporting migrants like them to other countries, often places with a history of violence. The U. S. said that once in South Sudan, the migrants would get immigration status according to South Sudan's laws. They also said the U. S. did not ask for the migrants to be detained there. However, a judge noted that the State Department warns Americans not to go to South Sudan because it's dangerous. The judge who first heard the case, Randolph Moss, said he believed the migrants' lawyers were trying to protect their clients' lives. But he also said courts shouldn't stop administrative actions for too long. So, he only gave a short delay before the deportation could go ahead.