Trump admin deportations to South Sudan violated court order, judge rules
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The seal of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security outside a port of entry in Arizona on Feb. 21. Photo: Rebecca Noble/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A federal judge on Wednesday found that the Trump administration "unquestionably" violated a court order when it quickly deported immigrants to South Sudan.
The big picture: The rebuke from U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy is among the strongest against President Trump's deportation agenda, which has tested the powers of the executive over the judiciary.
The latest: The deported individuals must be given access to counsel and a reasonable fear interview in private with at least 72-hours notice, Murphy said in a court order later Wednesday.
- "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 wrote.
- The Department of Homeland Security must provide status reports every seven days on each of the individuals, Murphy added.
- It's up to the department's discretion whether they choose to return the individuals to the U.S. and carry out the process in the country, or whether they do so abroad in DHS custody, per the order.
- All individuals "potentially involved in any removal that may implicate this order have been told that failure to comply with the terms of the preliminary injunction may subject them to civil or criminal contempt," according to the court.
Driving the news: Murphy found that the government did not give enough time for eight immigrants from various nationalities to contest their removal before they were put on a plane to South Sudan early Tuesday.
- "It was impossible for these people to have a meaningful opportunity to object to their transfer to South Sudan," Murphy said, adding that the 17-hour window of the events was "plainly" and "undeniably" insufficient, per CNN.
- The "actions in this case were unquestionably in violation of this court's order," the judge said.
Context: Immigration attorneys accused the Trump administration of deporting immigrants from Myanmar and Vietnam to South Sudan in violation of a court order Murphy issued last month.
- The judge had already ruled that sending undocumented immigrants to countries they're not citizens of would "clearly violate" an earlier order against sending people to third countries.
Zoom in: Murphy said in an order late Tuesday that the administration must "maintain custody and control" of immigrants "being removed to South Sudan or to any other third country" in case he finds such removals were unlawful.
- He said he's leaving "the practicalities of compliance" to the Trump administration but expects the immigrants "will be treated humanely."
- The Department of Homeland Security identified eight individuals ICE deported and listed crimes it said they were convicted of in a news release also shared on the White House's website on Wednesday.
Go deeper: Judge: Trump admin's deportations to South Sudan may have violated order
Editor's note: This article has been updated to include details of U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy's Wednesday night court order.
