U.S. expels eight men to South Sudan after legal war

A few weeks after a legal battle moved them to Djibouti, the United States has deported eight people to South Sudan.

These people – convicted of murder, sexual assault and robbery – have been completed or near the end of their prison sentence.

Only one of the eight came from South Sudan. The rest are nationals of Myanmar, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos and Mexico. U.S. officials say most of their home countries refuse to accept it.

The Trump administration is working to expand its deportation to a third country.

It has deported people to El Salvador and costa rica. Rwanda has confirmed the discussion, with Benin, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Esvatini and Moldova being named potential recipients in media coverage.

The photo provided by the Department of Homeland Security to CBS News is a U.S. partner of the BBC showing soldiers on the plane their hands and feet tied.

Officials did not disclose whether the South Sudanese government detained them or what their fate was. The country remains unstable and on the brink of a civil war, with the U.S. State Department warning that it is due to “crime, kidnapping and armed conflict.”

The eight were originally flew out of the United States in May, but their planes were transferred to Djibouti Massachusetts U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy blocks deportation. He ruled that immigrants deported to third countries must be notified and given the opportunity to speak with asylum officials.

But last week, the Supreme Court supported the Trump administration and overturned Judge Murphy’s ruling. The Supreme Court confirmed Thursday that the judge no longer requested proper procedural hearings, allowing deportation.

The lawyer then asked another judge to intervene, but he eventually ruled that only Judge Murphy had jurisdiction. Judge Murphy later said he had no right to stop evacuation due to the Supreme Court’s “binding” judgment.

Tricia McLaughlin from the Department of Homeland Security said South Sudan’s deportation defeated “activists.”

Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked all visas for South Sudan passport holders, citing the country’s past refusal to accept deported nationals.