US Supreme Court allows deportation of 8 immigrants to South Sudan | Image: Sudan Tribune
Following a legal battle over their deportation back to South Sudan, the Trump administration successfully deported eight immigrants to Sudan. According to the Department of Homeland Security, these immigrants had been held for more than a month at a military base in Djibouti while their legal challenge played out in court.
The Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday allowed the transfer of the immigrants to proceed. They had been on a flight to South Sudan in May, but it was diverted to Djibouti, where they were being held in a converted shipping container, after a judge ruled the administration hadn’t given them a chance to contest their removal.
In a press release, U.S. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin had confirmed the deportation of the eight immigrants. McLaughlin says they were deported on Friday, 4 July. She further considers the deportation a win for the American rule of law, citing, amongst other things, security for Americans.
Meanwhile, yesterday two officials who work at Juba Airport in Sudan gave confirmation that the immigrants had arrived. One of the officials who liked to remain anonymous told Reuters that a document he saw indicated the aircraft’s arrival time as 6:00 am local time (0400 GMT). Furthermore, immigration officials confirmed the deportees’ arrival in the country but declined to provide further information, directing queries to the National Security Service intelligence agency.
The migrants’ situation has become a contentious issue in the debate over the Trump administration’s immigration policy, which involves deporting migrants to “third countries” they claim are unsafe. This policy’s legality has been challenged in court, with cases already reaching the Supreme Court twice.
Nonetheless, a federal judge allowed the Trump administration to proceed with relocating immigrants, after the Supreme Court had permitted their removal from the U.S. According to administration officials, the eight immigrants had been convicted of violent crimes in the U.S.
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