A group of criminal aliens, which includes five convicted murders, is being held in the small African country of Djibouti after a judge ruled the Trump administration violated his order and can’t deport them.
A federal judge in Boston said the Trump administration’s attempt to fly them to South Sudan “unquestionably” violated a court order. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy ruled on Wednesday that U.S. officials risked being held in contempt of court for violating a preliminary injunction he issued in April, Reuters reports.
Murphy’s earlier order blocked the administration from sending deportees to third countries without the opportunity for due process and to raise any concerns they had for their safety.
The Trump administration says the eight men have serious criminal records and described them as the “Worst of the Worst.” The White House has made it clear it plans to carry out mass deportation, going after violent criminal aliens first.
Reuters reported the White House in a statement called Murphy “a far-left activist judge,” while a spokesperson for the Homeland Security Department called his ruling “deranged.” Trump blasted Murphy’s order in a Truth Social post on Thursday.
“A Federal Judge in Boston, who knew absolutely nothing about the situation, or anything else, has ordered that EIGHT of the most violent criminals on Earth curtail their journey to South Sudan, and instead remain in Djibouti,” Mr. Trump said in his Truth Social post. “He would not allow these monsters to proceed to their final destination.”
“This is not the premise under which I was elected President, which was to PROTECT our Nation,” Trump continued. “The Judges are absolutely out of control, they’re hurting our Country, and they know nothing about particular situations, or what they are doing,” Trump wrote.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security hosted a press conference ahead of Wednesday’s hearing to set the record straight and address the media’s misleading reports.
DHS later identified the men as nationals of Cuba, Laos, Mexico, South Sudan, Myanmar and Vietnam. In a news release, DHS listed out criminal convictions for all eight of the deportees, including murder, lascivious acts with a child and sexual assault.
“We are removing these convicted criminals from American soil so they can never hurt another American victim,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement. “It is absurd that an activist judge 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 group of criminals includes:
- Enrique ARIAS-Hierro, a Cuban national with a criminal history that includes convictions for homicide, armed robbery, false impersonation of official, kidnapping, robbery strong arm.
- Jose Manuel RODRIGUEZ-QUINONES, a Cuban national convicted of attempted first-degree murder with a weapon, battery and larceny, cocaine possession and trafficking.
- Thongxay NILAKOUT, a citizen of Laos, is convicted of first-degree murder and robbery; sentenced to life confinement.
- Jesus MUNOZ-Gutierrez, a Mexican national convicted of second-degree murder; sentenced to life confinement.
- Dian Peter DOMACH, a citizen of South Sudan, is convicted of robbery and possession of a firearm, of possession of burglar’s tools and possession of defaced firearm and driving under the influence.
- Kyaw MYA, a citizen of Burma, is convicted of Lascivious Acts with a Child-Victim less than 12 years of age; sentenced to 10 years confinement, paroled after 4 years.
- Nyo MYINT, a citizen of Burma, is convicted of first-degree sexual assault involving a victim mentally and physically incapable of resisting; sentenced to 12 years confinement. MYINT is also charged with aggravated assault-nonfamily strongarm.
- Tuan Thanh PHAN, a Vietnamese national, is convicted of first-degree murder and second-degree assault; sentenced to 22 years confinement.
In an emergency hearing on Tuesday, Murphy ordered the government to “maintain custody and control” of the migrants. The legal feud began after immigration advocates and attorneys say the men were put on a deportation flight to violence-plagued South Sudan without adequate notice or due process.
At Wednesday’s hearing in Boston, the judge said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security failed to provide the deportees a “meaningful opportunity” to contest being sent to South Sudan. The department gave them less than 24 hours before they were loaded onto a plane. Six of them were covered by Murphy’s injunction, the judge said.
They argue the Sudan flight violates an April order by Murphy requiring the government to give deportees notice of their final destination and a chance to challenge their removal.
“They did not offer any opportunity to object,” the judge said in a CBS News report.
Murphy later issued an order stating that non-citizens must be given at least 10 days to raise a claim that they fear for their safety before they are deported to a country other than their own.
Murphy has ordered the Trump administration to give the individuals “reasonable fear” interviews to screen them for any concerns about being harmed in a third country.
Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin posted on X that Murphy also gave them 15 days to reopen their immigration cases with access to phones and attorneys if they are determined to have a credible fear. Each criminal alien must be given no less than 72 hours’ notice about the credible fear interview.
“Judge Brian Murphy has also ordered that DHS must provide status reports on each of the individuals every seven days,” Melugin wrote. “He says DHS can decide to either bring them back to the U.S. for this process, or they can do it overseas as long as they maintain custody of them and give them access to necessary phones, attorneys, etc.”
Fox News also obtained an ICE document showing that some of the illegal aliens are convicted murderers who have had active final orders of removal/deportation orders since as far back as 1999, 2005 and 2009.
Trump officials confirmed they are in Djibouti, a small country on the Horn of Africa on the continent’s east coast, located across the Gulf of Aden from the Arabian Peninsula. Two U.S. officials confirmed they are being held at a U.S. military base in the country.
The dispute mirrors another case in which Washington-based U.S. District Judge James Boasberg found that the administration violated his order to pause the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to a prison in El Salvador, Reuters reports.
