US judge accuses Trump admin of ‘manufacturing chaos’ in South Sudan deportations, escalating feud

A federal judge in Massachusetts chastised senior Trump administrators Monday night for failing to comply with his court orders after a group of refugees was deported from the U S to South Sudan the latest dust-up centered on deportations due process protections and the administration s willingness or lack thereof to comply with federal courts In a scathing -page order U S District Judge Brian Murphy rejected Trump s request to amend or withdraw the judge's earlier decision requiring them to keep in U S custody six asylum seekers who were deported to South Sudan without due process or notice On Wednesday Murphy ordered that the expatriates remain in U S custody at a military base in Djibouti until each of them could be given a reasonable fear interview or a chance to explain to U S personnel any fear of persecution or torture should they be circulated into South Sudanese custody As of Monday night he declared these interviews had not taken place SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS TRUMP'S REMOVAL OF BIDEN APPOINTEES FROM FEDERAL BOARDS It turns out that having immigration proceedings on another continent is harder and more logistically cumbersome than defendants anticipated Murphy reported in his order noting that the Trump administration is free to return individuals to have the interviews carried out on U S soil He also took aim at Trump representatives for attacking the courts noting Monday night that defendants here have mischaracterized the court's order while at the same time manufacturing the very chaos they decry The salvo comes as Murphy a federal judge in Boston presides over a class-action lawsuit from expatriates who are challenging deportations to third countries including South Sudan El Salvador and other countries including Costa Rica Guatemala and others that the administration has reportedly eyed in its ongoing wave of deportations In considering the third-country removals Murphy stressed that he has attempted to strike a delicate balance between due process protections under the U S Constitution and the Trump administration's wave of eleventh-hour removals and deportations Murphy noted that he allowed the Trump administration to keep the six deported foreigners in South Sudan under the custody of U S agents so long as they carry out the so-called reasonable fear interviews and make a determination over whether the migrants' concerns were adequate FEDERAL JUDGES IN NEW YORK AND TEXAS BLOCK TRUMP DEPORTATIONS AFTER SCOTUS RULING The court never commented that defendants had to convert their foreign military base into an immigration facility Murphy wrote in his order Monday night It only left that as an option again at defendants request Murphy also doubled down on his earlier orders as sensible and conservative noting that he had repeatedly attempted to strike the right balance in weighing the Trump administration's requests for the men to remain in South Sudan against their right to habeas proceedings and due process under the U S Constitution He also cited DOJ's seemingly fluid position as to what constitutes adequate notice for removals He disclosed Justice Department attorneys previously explained the court that they believe that hours is sufficient and meaningful notice to remove certain immigrants before emerging with that in removing the men to South Sudan These individuals also do not appear to have any access to counsel In one event he disclosed plaintiffs declared Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel had canceled at least one prerescheduled meeting with an attorney and her client Class members likewise had no opportunity to learn anything about South Sudan a nascent unstable country to which the United States has of late stated its citizens not to tour because of crime kidnapping and armed conflict Murphy stated 'WOEFULLY INSUFFICIENT' US JUDGE REAMS TRUMP ADMIN FOR DAYS-LATE DEPORTATION INFOThe judge's order is the latest attempt by federal courts judges to rein in the Trump administration as it continues to deport refugees to third countries including El Salvador and South Sudan U S judges have repeatedly ruled that the Trump administration has violated due process by failing to notify the settlers of their imminent removals or afford them any opportunity to challenge their deportations in court a view reiterated albeit narrowly by the Supreme Court four separate times since Trump took office The judges have repeatedly ordered the Trump administration to facilitate their return to the U S To date the Trump administration has not complied publicly with any of the requests to return the deported individuals White House agents meanwhile have blasted so-called activist judges as attempting to enact a political agenda and have repeatedly rejected the notion that illegal immigrants are not entitled to due process APPEALS COURT BLOCKS TRUMP ADMIN'S DEPORTATION FLIGHTS IN ALIEN ENEMIES ACT IMMIGRATION SUITTrump took aim at what he described as USA hating judges in a Truth Social post Monday arguing that they suffer from an ideology that is sick and very dangerous for our country Earlier he described Murphy as yet another activist judge who he reported is trying to protect criminal illegal immigrant monsters The court recognizes that the class members at issue here have criminal histories Murphy wrote in an apparent response to these comments Monday night But that does not change due process he wrote The court treats its obligation to these principles with the seriousness that anyone committed to the rule of law should understand Murphy added in his order that the Trump administration is welcome to submit its arguments to the court in writing But he noted From this discipline of conduct it is hard to come to any conclusion other than that Defendants invite lack of clarity as a means of evasion As of Monday he declared this step had not been completed