US to deport migrants to South Sudan, most with no ties to country
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The Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to deport eight detainees from a US base in Djibouti to South Sudan, overriding lower court protections.
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People deported from the United States disembark from a repatriation flight, during a Department of Homeland Security operations tour for visiting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, at La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City, Thursday, June 26, 2025 (AP)
The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to deport eight men held at a US military base in Djibouti to South Sudan, despite the fact that only one of the detainees is originally from the country. The decision marks a controversial application of US immigration law, allowing deportations to third countries with which detainees have little or no connection.
The ruling follows a broader decision by the Court’s conservative majority permitting the US government to remove individuals to third-party nations, even when those individuals face potential risks and lack personal, familial, or cultural ties to the destination country. The lower court's injunction had required officials to give detainees the opportunity to demonstrate a “reasonable fear” of torture, persecution, or death before such removals could proceed. That safeguard has now been bypassed.
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.”
Murky deportation process
While most of the men are from countries including Vietnam, South Korea, Mexico, Laos, Cuba, and Myanmar, only one is from South Sudan. All eight men were not given notice of their final deportation destination until the last minute.
Each had prior criminal convictions and was subject to an “order of removal” following incarceration. One detainee, Tuan Thanh Phan, who immigrated to the US from Vietnam as a child, had planned to return to his country of origin after serving his sentence for a gang-related homicide committed at age 18.
Instead, the men were informed they would be sent to South Africa and were asked to sign documents acknowledging their deportation. When they refused, officials rerouted the transfer to South Sudan.
The case came before Judge Brian E. Murphy in the District of Massachusetts, who ruled that the men must receive written notice and the opportunity to raise claims under the Convention Against Torture. However, the administration failed to provide key information about the men’s location or final destination as the deportation proceeded.
Eventually, the detainees were transported to Camp Lemonnier, a US military base in Djibouti, where they were placed under ICE custody. According to a sworn statement by an ICE official, the conditions were dire: several detainees and guards became ill, medical care was limited, and detainees faced malaria risk and proximity to militant activity.
White House silent as legal precedent expands
The Trump administration formally asked the Supreme Court in May to greenlight the deportations, arguing that it was within the executive’s authority to remove individuals to any willing third country.
While the administration has been negotiating deportation agreements with multiple nations willing to accept such transfers, neither the White House nor the Department of Homeland Security provided immediate comment following the Supreme Court’s decision.
Immigration advocates warn that this case sets a dangerous precedent, undermining protections for vulnerable individuals facing removal and expanding executive power to sidestep due process under international and domestic human rights standards.
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