Trump administration defends deportation flight to South Sudan, attacking judge

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday defended its decision to deport eight migrants on a flight to South Sudan but remained coy about whether the war-torn nation would be the group’s “final destination.”

The flight came after multiple court decisions barring DHS from removing migrants from the country, including an emergency order requiring the U.S. government to maintain custody of the men.

In a rushed press conference, DHS officials described the eight men as “monsters” while attacking a Massachusetts based federal judge set to hold a hearing on the matter later Wednesday.

“No country on earth wanted to accept them because their crimes are so uniquely monstrous and barbaric. These heinous individuals have terrorized American streets for too long,” said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at DHS, noting that the men had been convicted of crimes such as rape and murder.

“Now, a local judge in Massachusetts is trying to force the United States to bring back these uniquely barbaric monsters who present a clear and present threat to the safety of the American people.”

The flight is the latest instance of Trump administration officials confronting U.S. District Court Judge Brian Murphy after he issued a ruling suspending migrant flights.

Earlier this month, Murphy informed the administration that plans to deport migrants to Libya and Saudi Arabia would violate an existing court order blocking removal of any members of the class impacted by the suit. None of the men informed of their pending removal were from either country.

Then Tuesday, attorneys for several of the men said the Trump administration placed several men on a flight to South Sudan, a country in the midst of a civil war.

Murphy late Tuesday issued an emergency order requiring the Trump administration to “maintain custody and control of class members currently being removed to South Sudan or to any other third country, to ensure the practical feasibility of return if the Court finds that such removals were unlawful.”

While the press release advertised the event as “a Press Conference on Migrant Flight to South Sudan,” McLaughlin would not say more about where the men would ultimately be sent or whether they would remain in South Sudan.

“While we are fully compliant with the law and court orders, it is absolutely absurd for a district judge to try to dictate the foreign policy and national security of the United States of America. These are the monsters that the district judge is trying to protect,” McLaughlin said.

The Trump administration has already sent some migrants – including numerous Venezuelans - to a prison in El Salvador, while the rumored flights to Libya suggest they are looking for other countries to detain migrants.

All but one of the eight men are from countries other than South Sudan, including Burma, Vietnam, Cuba, Loas and Mexico.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said flights to third countries were being used because their home countries would not accept deportees.

“As a career law enforcement officer and a career officer at ICE, I've been dealing with these recalcitrant countries for years, having to see repeated murderous sex offenders, violent criminals re-released back into the United States because their home countries would not take them back,” he said.

The Trump administration later identified the individuals who were on the flight and their crimes. While the administration said each individual had been convicted of various “heinous” crimes, it was not immediately clear when or where some of them were convicted.

One of the individuals on the flight is Thongxay Nilakout, a native of Laos who was convicted in a 1994 killing of a German tourist in Southern California. Nilakout was 17 at the time of the crime. A state hearing panel recommended his release in 2022.

It was less clear when and where the others were convicted, but the administration listed their names and crimes. 

It included Dian Peter Domach of South Sudan, who was convicted of a DUI and robbery and possession of a firearm; Kyaw Mya, a Burmese citizen who was convicted of Lascivious Acts with a child under 12; Tuan Thanh Phan, a Vietnamese citizen convicted of first-degree murder and second-degree assault; and Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez, a Mexican citizen convicted of second-degree murder.

“President Trump is getting vicious illegal alien murderers, rapists, and pedophiles the hell out of our country,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X. “No matter how upset this makes Democrats — we will continue to deport these monsters to keep Americans safe.”