Attorneys for deportees argue that the government failed to provide the illegal immigrants a ‘meaningful opportunity’ to raise any fears.
A federal judge on May 20 ordered the Trump administration to maintain custody of illegal immigrants being deported to South Sudan while the court determines the legality of their removal.
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy held an emergency hearing on May 20 after attorneys for the deportees, all charged with crimes, alleged that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has deported about a dozen illegal immigrants from countries such as Vietnam and Burma (also known as Myanmar) to South Sudan earlier that day in violation of an April 18
preliminary injunction.
In a
court filing, the plaintiffs said a Burmese national—who was among those deported and has limited English proficiency—had refused to sign a notice of removal that was provided to him only in English.
This appeared to be in violation of Murphy’s previous injunction, which requires the DHS to provide illegal immigrants with written notice in a language they understand before sending them to a third country.
The plaintiffs also alleged that the DHS has failed to provide the illegal immigrants a “meaningful opportunity” to raise any fears about their removal to a country of which they are not citizens.
At the hearing, Justice Department lawyer Elianis Perez said that among the illegal immigrants deported to South Sudan were a Vietnamese man who was convicted of murder and another individual convicted of rape.
Murphy ordered the DHS to retain custody and control of illegal immigrants being deported to South Sudan in order to ensure the practical feasibility of their return if he later found the deportations to be in violation of his previous order.
“While the Court leaves the practicalities of compliance to Defendants’ discretion, Defendants have ensured, and the Court expects, that class members will be treated humanely,” the judge said in an
order.
Murphy also ordered the DHS to identify the illegal immigrants who had been deported to South Sudan and to address when and how the removal notice was given to them, as well as what opportunity was given to them to raise any fears of persecution, torture, or death at the hands of the state before being deported to a third country.
The DHS did not return a request for comment at the time of publication.
The decision followed Murphy’s May 7
ruling that any effort to remove illegal immigrants without procedural safeguards would be a clear violation of a preliminary injunction
he issued on April 18, which barred the DHS from deporting illegal immigrants to a third country without first giving them a chance to raise any fear-based claims.
The May 7 ruling came after the plaintiffs in a class-action case filed a
request for a temporary restraining order, citing news reports and attorney declarations indicating that the DHS was preparing to deport several Laotian, Vietnamese, and Filipino nationals to Libya without those protections in place.
Tom Ozimek and Reuters contributed to this report.
