Trump admin violated court order in South Sudan deportation: Judge
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A federal judge ruled the Trump administration violated a court order by deporting immigrants to South Sudan without due process, marking a strong rebuke of Trump's deportation policies.
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The seal of the US Department of Homeland Security is seen before the news conference with Acting Director of US ICE Todd Lyons at ICE Headquarters, in Washington, May 21, 2025. (AP)
A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that the Trump administration "unquestionably" violated a court order when it deported a group of immigrants to South Sudan, a country currently facing a resurgence of civil conflict, without a proper legal process.
According to Axios, the decision by US District Judge Brian Murphy stands as one of the most direct judicial rebukes of the administration’s deportation practices.
Judge Murphy ordered that the deported individuals be granted access to legal counsel and provided a private reasonable fear interview with at least 72 hours' notice.
"Should any individual raise a fear with respect to deportation to the third country that DHS determines falls short of 'reasonable fear,' the individual must be provided meaningful opportunity, and a minimum of 15 days, to seek to move to reopen immigration proceedings to challenge the potential third-country removal," the judge stated.
He further directed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide status updates every seven days on each of the affected individuals. DHS retains discretion over whether to return the individuals to the US to complete the process or continue proceedings while holding them abroad in DHS custody.
Details of the South Sudan deportation
The case involved the removal of eight immigrants of various nationalities to South Sudan, which Judge Murphy said occurred within an inadequate 17-hour window. He found that the rushed timeline made it "impossible for these people to have a meaningful opportunity to object to their transfer," describing the actions as "plainly" and "undeniably" insufficient.
"The actions in this case were unquestionably in violation of this court's order," Murphy emphasized, according to CNN.
It is worth noting that the deportations violated a prior court order, according to a legal filing submitted on Tuesday. Immigration lawyers revealed the deportations in an emergency court filing, citing an email from a detention officer stating that a Burmese national, referred to as "N.M.," was "removed...to South Sudan."
The filing further indicated that a second migrant, a Vietnamese national identified as "T.T.P.," also appeared to have been deported, along with at least ten others.
On May 7, following reports that authorities were attempting to deport N.M. and others to Libya and Saudi Arabia, the court sided with the plaintiffs. The migrants were then returned to immigration detention after being kept for several hours on a bus parked on a military base's tarmac.
The court underscored that all individuals "potentially involved in any removal that may implicate this order" have been informed that failure to comply with the court’s directive could result in civil or criminal contempt charges.
