Updated May 20, 2025 at 10:12 PM EDT
A federal judge in Massachusetts questioned the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday about whether it had deported any migrants to .
The judge, Brian Murphy, had in April barred any deportations of migrants from the U.S. to countries other than their own, unless they're given sufficient time to contest their deportations, and a notice in their native language.
But lawyers for at least one migrant, originally from Vietnam and known by the initials T.T.P in the court case, alleged he was on his way to South Sudan in Africa, the world's youngest country. The lawyers spoke during an emergency remote hearing Murphy called on Tuesday evening.
They argued that their Vietnamese client was given less than 24 hours' notice of his removal, and had no ability to contest it in his native language.
If those facts are true, "that leaves me in the uncomfortable position that this person is on their way to South Sudan in violation to my court order," Murphy said during Tuesday's hearing.
Murphy ordered DHS to keep in its custody anyone deported to South Sudan or any other a third country at least until the next hearing in the case, "to ensure the practical feasibility of return if the Court finds that such removals were unlawful," Murphy wrote in a brief order late Tuesday.
"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," he added.
Lawyers from DHS and the Department of Justice said during the hearing that the destination of the plane carrying T.T.P. was classified.
It wasn't immediately clear who else was on the plane, their nationalities, or how DHS can keep people in custody after they're removed to another country. DHS didn't immediately respond to a request for further comment after the judge's order.
South Sudan endured a long civil war that killed more than 50,000 people until a fragile peace halted the fighting in 2018. Even so, political instability persists and clashes between rebels and the government continue. Many, , worry about the prospect of the country tipping into civil war again.
Third-country deportations
The Trump administration has been negotiating with other countries willing to take in people deported from the U.S.
Earlier in May, the administration had sought to , despite concerns from human rights groups about the violence there and the country's notorious human rights record.
Murphy had earlier weighed in to specify that his April order barred deportations there, too.
The issue of whether the U.S. still has custody over migrants deported to other countries has come up in other immigration court hearings, highlighting the limits of judicial authority.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, for example, was deported from the U.S. to El Salvador despite an immigration court order barring his removal to his home country because of credible fears he'd be persecuted there. But once he arrived in El Salvador, the Trump administration has asserted he's no longer under U.S. custody and it has no power to bring him back.
Proper notice before removal
Government lawyers at Tuesday's hearing said the people deported had final removal orders, and that the removals followed court orders. They also said some of those removed were accused of serious crimes.
They also argued that if a person doesn't express fear of being deported to a particular country within 24 hours, then the government has the right to deport them there.
Immigration attorneys had earlier on Tuesday asked Murphy to block an alleged Trump administration move to deport migrants to a third country, in this case South Sudan, and to immediately order the return of any migrants deported, according to a court .
Migrants from Myanmar, Vietnam and other countries who do not have legal status to remain in the U.S. received notices on Monday that they would be deported, their lawyers said.
When lawyers representing detainees sought to contact them on Tuesday, officials at the Port Isabel Detention Center in Texas said that at least one person, originally from Myanmar, had already been removed to South Sudan, according to a declaration from their attorney. Government lawyers disputed that and said he was on his way to his home country.
"Plaintiffs ask this Court for an immediate order ordering the immediate return of any class members removed to South Sudan," according to documents filed in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. The attorneys also asked the government not to deport migrants to any country which isn't their country of origin unless they get proper written notice and enough time to contest their deportation.
They argued that the Trump administration's actions to deport their clients also violate the judicial order barring deportations to such third countries without adequate due process.
Third countries taking in migrants from the U.S. include El Salvador and Mexico. The Department of Homeland Security deported more than 200 Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador earlier this year.
It argued that some of the men were members of the and could be deported using the , an obscure wartime law that allows for quick removals. The Trump administration has also paid El Salvador $6 million to house them.
Copyright 2025 NPR
