Eight foreign men convicted of crimes were deported from the US to South Sudan on a single flight, according to court records and officials. The deportation came after a federal judge ordered the White House to reconsider their cases due to concerns about their appeals process.
The men were convicted of various crimes in different states across the US, including murder, kidnapping, and false impersonation of an officer. They had been ordered deported by immigration judges in 2005 or earlier, but waived their appeals at the time.
According to court records, the group includes a Vietnamese man who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for first-degree murder and second-degree assault, as well as a Mexican man who was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Other men from Cuba and Nebraska were also part of the group.
The deportation came after a court filing revealed that Trump administration officials had referred to the group as “barbaric monsters,” sparking concerns about their human rights treatment.
A federal judge had previously ordered the White House to reconsider the appeals process for the men, citing concerns about their ability to appeal due to language barriers and other issues. The deportation has raised questions about the effectiveness of the US immigration system and its treatment of foreign nationals with limited English proficiency.
The men’s cases were handled by various government agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The agency responsible for handling their appeals process was not immediately available to comment on the matter.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/deportees-south-sudan-ice-immigration-identities-eddd2d1a172775ec7d9403984ffb41e2