Federal Judge Temporarily Halts Deportation of Migrants to South Sudan, Sends Case to Boston

A federal judge in Washington briefly halted the deportation of eight migrants to war-torn South Sudan on Friday, just one day after the Supreme Court authorized their removal. The judge also transferred the case to a court in Boston, determining that another judge was better suited to handle the matter.

During an extraordinary hearing held on Independence Day, District Judge Randolph Moss decided to refer the case to Judge Brian Murphy, whose prior rulings had already temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s attempts to deport the group to the African nation.

Judge Moss extended the deportation freeze until 4:30 p.m. (ET), though it remained unclear whether Murphy would act on the matter during the federal holiday. Moss argued that new claims presented by the migrants’ attorneys warranted a fresh hearing.

U.S. authorities have been trying to deport the migrants for weeks, even though none of them are originally from South Sudan. The U.S. State Department advises against all travel to the country, warning that visitors should “make their own funeral arrangements” before going due to the extreme level of conflict.

The migrants, who come from countries including Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, and Vietnam, had previously been transferred to the U.S. Naval Base in Djibouti. However, their deportation was blocked after Judge Murphy ruled that they could not be sent to a third country without first being granted a court hearing.

Although the Supreme Court overturned that ruling last month, it issued a new order Thursday night clarifying that the government could, in fact, proceed with deporting the migrants to South Sudan. In response, the migrants’ lawyers filed an emergency motion to halt the removals, prompting the case to land before Judge Moss.

Moss issued a temporary stay to block the deportations until the Friday afternoon hearing concluded and later extended that order slightly after officially transferring the case to Judge Murphy. The government had indicated it intended to carry out the deportations to South Sudan sometime on Friday.