“Due process still matters.” Those words from Leila Kang of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project echoed through a courtroom on July 4th, as a federal judge pressed pause—again—on the deportation of eight immigrants to South Sudan, a place most of them have never called home. The twist? This dramatic turn came just hours after the Supreme Court greenlit the Trump administration’s push to send these men to a country gripped by violence and uncertainty.
The Supreme Court’s late-night order was clear: US immigration officials could swiftly deport people to countries where they have no connections. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, dissenting, called out the move, writing, “What the government wants to do, concretely, is send the eight noncitizens it illegally removed from the United States from Djibouti to South Sudan, where they will be turned over to the local authorities without regard for the likelihood that they will face torture or death.” Her words, quoted in The Guardian, highlighted the deep human rights questions at play.
The eight men—originally from Vietnam, South Korea, Mexico, Laos, Cuba, Myanmar, and only one from South Sudan—had all served time for serious crimes. The administration emphasized their criminal records as justification for removal. But as Trina Realmuto of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance pointed out, these men could “face perilous conditions, and potentially immediate detention, upon arrival” in South Sudan.
Judge Randolph Moss, overseeing an emergency Fourth of July hearing, decided the case belonged in Boston, with Judge Brian Murphy, whose earlier rulings had halted the administration’s efforts. Moss extended the temporary block on deportations, stating that new claims from the immigrants’ lawyers deserved a hearing. The government, meanwhile, had already flown the men to the US naval base in Djibouti, awaiting the next move.
What makes this case so fraught isn’t just the legal wrangling—it’s the reality on the ground in South Sudan. The country is, in the words of the US State Department, a Level 4 travel risk, where “a peace agreement between warring factions just collapsed,” as noted in a press release from the National Immigration Litigation Alliance. South Sudan’s civil war has left nearly 400,000 people dead and over four million displaced, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Humanitarian organizations warn that the country is experiencing one of the world’s worst hunger crises, with more than 7.7 million people—two-thirds of the population—facing severe food insecurity.
International law, including the Convention Against Torture, prohibits sending people to countries where they are likely to face torture. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has gone further, urging states not to forcibly return even South Sudanese nationals to the country due to ongoing armed conflict and human rights abuses. Yet, the Supreme Court’s recent order set aside lower court requirements for notice and an opportunity to raise a “reasonable fear” of torture before deportation to a third country.
Judge Murphy’s earlier ruling had required the government to provide written notice and a chance for immigrants to voice fears about being sent to a third country. The recent court order now clarifies that deportees must have at least ten days to raise a fear-based claim for protection, a move praised by advocates as a critical safeguard.
Meanwhile, South Sudan’s crisis continues to deepen. Years after its independence, the country remains mired in violence, with millions internally displaced and millions more seeking refuge in neighboring countries. The vast majority of those fleeing are women and children, many of whom have survived violent attacks and separation from their families.
For now, the fate of the eight men hangs in the balance, caught between shifting legal tides and the grim realities of a country in turmoil. As courts wrestle with the intersection of immigration law, international obligations, and humanitarian risk, the world is watching what comes next for those facing removal to one of the world’s most dangerous places.
