United States: On Wednesday, a Homeland Security official said that eight migrants were being deported for serious crimes, but did not answer whether South Sudan was the intended destination, as reported by Reuters.
Federal Judge Halts Release
Judge Murphy on Tuesday directed the Trump administration not to let a group of migrants flown to South Sudan leave the custody of immigration officials, after ruling they may have been deported illegally under a court order.
DHS officials confirmed that eight individuals convicted of violent crimes were placed on a deportation flight headed to South Sudan. An order from a federal judge directed the government to "maintain custody and control" of anyone deported to South Sudan. https://t.co/0fDDgDgutp pic.twitter.com/bmiONMQNmW
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Criminal Records Raise Alarm
Seven of the eight men were Cuban, Lao, Mexican, Burmese, Vietnamese, or South Sudanese, the officials added at a press conference, and were charged with murder, armed robbery, and major crimes, as reported by Reuters.
“We conducted a deportation flight from Texas to remove some of the most barbaric, violent individuals illegally in the United States,” Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told reporters. “These are the monsters that the district judge is trying to protect.”