Eight men in United States detention have lost a last-ditch attempt to avoid deportation to South Sudan, a country facing ongoing criticism for human rights abuses.
On Friday, Judge Brian Murphy of Boston denied the eleventh-hour appeal, which has been the subject of a flurry of legal activity throughout the day.
The men have been held at a US military base in Djibouti since late May, when an earlier deportation flight to South Sudan was halted by the courts.
The US Supreme Court has twice ruled that the Trump administration could deport the men to countries outside of their homelands. Its latest decision was issued on Thursday [PDF].
The appeal, filed that night, argued that repeated efforts under President Donald Trump to deport the men to South Sudan were “impermissibly punitive”, pointing to the US Constitution’s barring of “cruel and unusual punishment”.
The US Department of State advises American citizens to avoid South Sudan due to an ongoing armed conflict. It has in the past accused South Sudan of “extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, torture and cases of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment”.
Legal battle
The US Department of Justice indicated that the eight men were set to be flown to South Sudan by 7pm US Eastern Time (23:00 GMT) on Friday. They are immigrants from countries like Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, South Sudan and Vietnam.
Initially, the case was assigned to US District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington, DC, who signalled he was sympathetic to the deportees’ request.
He briefly ordered the deportation to be paused until 4:30pm Eastern Time (20:30 GMT) but ultimately decided to transfer the case back to Murphy, the judge whose decisions helped precipitate the Supreme Court’s rulings.
Murphy had previously issued injunctions against the deportations to South Sudan, leading to successful appeals from the Trump administration.
Before he transferred the case back to Murphy, however, Judge Moss said it was possible the deportees could prove their case that the Trump administration intended to subject them to abuse.
“It seems to me almost self-evident that the United States government cannot take human beings and send them to circumstances in which their physical wellbeing is at risk simply either to punish them or send a signal to others,” Moss said during the hearing.
Lawyers for the Trump administration, meanwhile, argued that the deportation’s continued delay would strain relations with third countries willing to accept deportees.
Murphy, who denied Friday’s request, had previously ruled in favour of the deportees, issuing an injunction against their removal to South Sudan and saying they had a right to contest the deportation based on fears for their safety.
The Supreme Court first lifted the injunction on June 23 and clarified its ruling again on Thursday, giving a subtle rebuke to Judge Murphy.
The Trump administration has been pushing for rapid removals as part of its campaign of mass deportation, one of President Trump’s signature priorities.
Opponents have accused the administration of steamrolling people’s human rights to achieve its aims, including the right to due process under the law.
But the Trump administration has framed migration as an “invasion” that constitutes a national security crisis, and it argued that its strong-armed efforts are needed to expel criminals.
The eight people slated to be sent to South Sudan, it said, were “barbaric, violent criminal illegal aliens”. It added that they had been found guilty of crimes, including first-degree murder, robbery and sexual assault.
“These sickos will be in South Sudan by Independence Day,” Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a news release on Thursday.
