U.S. deports eight men to South Sudan amid legal, ethical outcry

The Trump administration has completed the controversial deportation of eight men to South Sudan,a nation the U.S. government warns its own citizens not to enter due to ongoing violence,armed conflict,and human rights abuses.

The deportees,nationals of Cuba,Laos,Mexico,Myanmar,Vietnam,and South Sudan,were convicted of serious crimes,including murder and sexual assault. Most had served or nearly completed their sentences. Denied re-entry by their countries of origin,they were sent instead to South Sudan — a move critics decried as dangerous and unlawful. The group had been held in a converted shipping container at a U.S. military base in Djibouti for weeks after an earlier deportation attempt was blocked by courts over due process concerns. However,a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling stripped lower courts of the power to intervene,clearing the way for their removal on 4 July.

“These third-country deportations are wrong,period,” wrote progressive Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal,one of many voices condemning the move. “And the United States should not be sending people to a literal war zone.” The men arrived in Juba early Saturday (5 July) and are currently in a civilian facility under police and national security watch. Their legal status remains unclear. Rights groups and legal advocates argue the deportations defy international obligations and expose the men to potential abuse. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin at the Department of Homeland Security,meanwhile,called the action as “a win for the rule of law,safety and security of the American people”.