US deports migrants to South Sudan after court ruling
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Eight criminal migrants were deported from the US to South Sudan after a Supreme Court ruling reversed a stay on Trump’s third-country deportation policy.
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People deported from the United States disembark a repatriation flight during a Department of Homeland Security operations at La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City, Thursday, June 26, 2025 (AP)
Eight criminal migrants, previously deported from the United States and stranded for weeks at a military base in Djibouti, arrived in South Sudan early Saturday morning, a South Sudanese foreign ministry official confirmed to AFP.
Of the eight deportees, only one is a South Sudanese national. The others hail from Myanmar (2), Cuba (2), Vietnam, Laos, and Mexico. Despite their diverse origins, all were flown to Juba by US Marines following the US Supreme Court’s reversal of a lower court’s ruling that had blocked third-country deportations.
“They arrived in Juba as early as 5:00 am today from Djibouti,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a harshly worded statement describing the men as “barbaric, violent criminal illegal aliens” with prior convictions for murder, sexual assault, and robbery. The decision to deport them to South Sudan came despite only one being from the country.
“These sickos were finally deported to South Sudan on Independence Day,” said Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary at DHS. She blamed “activist judges” for the delay, adding that the group was so dangerous that even their home countries refused to accept them.
Supreme Court clears
The group’s original flight from the United States, conducted in May, was interrupted when a US district court temporarily blocked deportations to third countries. That order was overturned on Thursday by the Supreme Court, clearing the way for the controversial transfer.
South Sudan, currently grappling with widespread poverty and renewed political unrest, has provided no official comment on the long-term status of the deportees or plans for their custody.
The move aligns with US President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration agenda, which includes ramping up deportations and minimizing judicial obstacles. Since returning to office in January, Trump has reintroduced and expanded policies that seek to remove undocumented or criminal migrants, even if that means placing them in nations with little to no connection to them.
Legal, humanitarian backlash
Trina Realmuto, executive director of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance and attorney for the detainees, condemned the move, warning that the men could face immediate detention or danger upon arrival in South Sudan. “They face perilous conditions,” she said, citing serious concerns about the safety and legality of the transfer.
Liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson issued a strong dissent. Sotomayor sharply criticized what she characterized as preferential treatment for the executive branch, writing, “What the government wants to do, concretely, is send the eight noncitizens it illegally removed from the United States from Djibouti to South Sudan, where they will be turned over to the local authorities without regard for the likelihood that they will face torture or death.”
She added, “Today’s order clarifies only one thing: Other litigants must follow the rules, but the administration has the Supreme Court on speed dial.”
