In a significant ruling on Monday, US District Judge Brian Murphy, appointed by President Biden, rejected a motion from the Trump-era Department of Justice aimed at revisiting a case concerning the deportation of criminal aliens to South Sudan.
Murphy placed the blame squarely on the previous administration for the turmoil stemming from a court order that had grounded the deportation flights.
2/ gave serious consideration of govt due process analysis: govt provided full due process already to find aliens removable. At that point, providing same as newly arrived aliens makes sense.
— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) May 27, 2025
Earlier last week, Judge Murphy criticized the Trump Administration for allegedly flouting his order that mandated a “meaningful” due process for the aliens being deported to “third-party” countries.
Legal representatives for the aliens argued that deporting individuals from countries like Laos, Vietnam, and Cuba to South Sudan poses significant risks to their safety.
In his ruling, Judge Murphy underscored the necessity for the US to retain custody of these potentially dangerous individuals while legal proceedings unfold.
“During that 15-day period, the individual must remain within the custody or control of DHS and must be afforded access to counsel equivalent to what they would receive if they were attempting to reopen their cases from within the United States,” the judge articulated in his ruling.
Murphy also mandated that the US government ensure the provision of interpreters and legal counsel during the interviews with the aliens.
“Each of the six individuals must be granted a private reasonable fear interview, with the opportunity to have counsel present—either in-person or remotely, based on their preference. They should also be afforded access to the contact information of class counsel, along with the means to communicate confidentially and securely, just as they would have had if these procedures had taken place within US borders,” Murphy detailed in his concise two-page order.
In response, former President Trump expressed his frustration, noting that due to the judge’s decision, eight of the world’s most violent criminals are currently being detained in Djibouti, a small nation located on the Horn of Africa, adjacent to Ethiopia.
Interestingly, the US government lacks any detention facilities in Djibouti.
This judicial order has raised alarms regarding the safety of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Critics have voiced concerns that the ruling has left these officers to manage the supervision of these high-risk individuals under precarious conditions.
“A local judge in Boston has grounded the deportation flight, effectively entraping ICE officers in Djibouti with these dangerous individuals! They are now forced to monitor them around the clock in a location devoid of suitable facilities. How are our officers supposed to ensure their safety under these circumstances? Is this judge out of touch with reality? What kind of nation are we living in that this is even a topic of discussion?” Stephen Miller lamented during an appearance on Newsmax over the weekend.
