Trump admin says it's deporting 8 ‘monstrous and barbaric' illegal migrants to one of the poorest countries on Earth
The migrants were put on a flight to South Sudan — a violence-plagued African country — over the objections of a federal judge.
South Sudanese officials have also objected to the flight.
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Of the eight felons, only one is a native of South Sudan. The others are from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar and Vietnam.
'We conducted a deportation flight from Texas to remove some of the most barbaric, violent individuals illegally in the United States,' Homeland Security said in an X post announcing the latest migrant removals.
'No country on earth wanted to accept them because their crimes are so uniquely monstrous and barbaric.'
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3 Enrique Arias-Hierro, Jose Manuel Rodriguez-Quinones, Thongxay Nilakout, Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez, Dian Peter Domach, Kyaw Mya, Nyo Myint and Tuan Thanh Phan were all deported to South Sudan, an official said.
The migrants — who were convicted of crimes ranging from murder to child sex abuse — were all recently shipped off to the African nation, a senior administration official said.
It wasn't immediately clear whether the flight had arrived in South Sudan. The New York Times reported the plane carrying the migrants had temporarily landed at a US military base in Djibouti.
Among the deportees was Nyo Myint, a Burmese sex offender, who was convicted of first-degree sexual assault involving a victim mentally and physically incapable of resisting. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison over the 2017 assault in Nebraska, officials said.
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3 Among them was Nyo Myint, a Burmese sex offender, who was convicted of first-degree sexual assault involving a victim mentally and physically incapable of resisting.
Department of Homeland Security / X
Thongxay Nilakout, a citizen of Laos, was also booted from the US after serving a nearly three decade sentence for the brutal 1994 execution of a German tourist in California, according to the officials.
News of the deportations emerged after a federal judge ruled late Tuesday that US officials must retain custody and control of migrants removed to the African country — or any other — in case he orders their removals were unlawful.
US District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Massachusetts handed down the ruling after immigration advocates said the Trump administration had started booting the migrants — despite a court order restricting removals to other countries.
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3 Thongxay Nilakout, a citizen of Laos, was also booted from the US after serving a nearly three decade sentence for the brutal 1994 execution of a German tourist in California.
Department of Homeland Security / X
The attorneys had argued the deportation flights violated a court order saying people must get a 'meaningful opportunity' to argue that sending them to a country outside their homeland would be a threat to their safety.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin insisted Wednesday that the administration was acting lawfully and had given 'plenty of prior notice' to the migrants and their attorneys about their deportations.
'It is absolutely absurd for a district judge to try to dictate the foreign policy and national security of the United States,' McLaughlin said.
Meanwhile, police in South Sudan said earlier Wednesday that no migrants had yet to arrive in the country.
Major General James Monday Enoka said that if any migrants did touch down, they would be investigated and 're-deported to their correct country' if they're found not to be South Sudanese.
With Post wires
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