Ngoc Phan was ready to say goodbye. She had packed her husband’s bags, coordinated with relatives in Vietnam, and braced herself for the emotional toll of starting a life apar, temporarily. Her husband, Tuan Thanh Phan, a green card holder who served 25 years in prison for a 2000 gang-related killing, was set for deportation to Vietnam.
But without warning, ICE put him on a plane to South Sudan.
“There was no indication that he was going to be sent anywhere else except Vietnam,” Phan said as quoted by NPR. “We planned for it… and then in the middle of the night, they picked him up and sent him to South Sudan.”
Men told they’d be sent to South Africa, rerouted to war-torn South Sudan
NPR reported that Phan’s husband wasn’t the only one. Others with roots in Mexico, Cuba, Burma, and Laos were also told they’d be deported to South Africa, before being rerouted to South Sudan, one of the most politically unstable and dangerous countries in the world.
The Biden administration argues these individuals’ home countries refuse to take them back due to their criminal histories, and that deporting them to third countries is a necessary public safety measure.
“These are the ones you don’t want in your community,” said Todd Lyons, ICE Acting Director.
Legal challenge: ‘A complete renunciation of our justice system’
Lawyers representing the detainees quickly challenged the deportations, calling them unlawful and rushed. Many weren’t given enough time, sometimes less than 24 hours, to contest being removed to a country they had no connection to.
“It’s just a complete renunciation of our justice system,” said Matt Adams of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, as reported by NPR.
Federal Judge Brian Murphy sided with the attorneys, ruling that deportees deserve 15 days and information in their native language to challenge removals to unfamiliar countries, especially those where they might face violence or persecution.
US has used third-country removals before, but South Sudan raises alarms
The use of third countries in deportations isn’t new. In the past, the US has sent migrants to Mexico when their own countries refused to accept them. Vietnam, for instance, has strict conditions for accepting deportees, usually limited to those who arrived before 1995.
But the administration’s turn to countries like South Sudan, and previously Libya, marks a dangerous shift, say legal experts.
“These deportations are happening in a rushed fashion,” said Greg Chen of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “That means the administration is dangerously close to violating due process.”
Detained in Djibouti as case moves to Supreme Court
After Judge Murphy’s injunction, the plane carrying the deportees landed at a military base in Djibouti. The men remain there with ICE agents, stuck in legal limbo as the Biden administration challenges the ruling at the Supreme Court.
The government argues that the judiciary is overstepping into foreign policy and immigration enforcement.
“While certain aliens may benefit from stalling their removal, the Nation does not,” U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer wrote in the appeal.
The Supreme Court is expected to consider the matter after lawyers for the deportees respond by June 4.
‘He already did 25 years’: Wife left with silence and anger
Ngoc Phan hasn’t heard from her husband since he boarded the plane.
“I’m angry about it,” she said. “They want to call him a barbaric monster without really understanding the details of his case… He already did 25 years.”
What was supposed to be the start of a new chapter, one planned and painful, has become a legal and emotional abyss.
But without warning, ICE put him on a plane to South Sudan.
“There was no indication that he was going to be sent anywhere else except Vietnam,” Phan said as quoted by NPR. “We planned for it… and then in the middle of the night, they picked him up and sent him to South Sudan.”
Men told they’d be sent to South Africa, rerouted to war-torn South Sudan
NPR reported that Phan’s husband wasn’t the only one. Others with roots in Mexico, Cuba, Burma, and Laos were also told they’d be deported to South Africa, before being rerouted to South Sudan, one of the most politically unstable and dangerous countries in the world.
The Biden administration argues these individuals’ home countries refuse to take them back due to their criminal histories, and that deporting them to third countries is a necessary public safety measure.
“These are the ones you don’t want in your community,” said Todd Lyons, ICE Acting Director.
Legal challenge: ‘A complete renunciation of our justice system’
Lawyers representing the detainees quickly challenged the deportations, calling them unlawful and rushed. Many weren’t given enough time, sometimes less than 24 hours, to contest being removed to a country they had no connection to.
“It’s just a complete renunciation of our justice system,” said Matt Adams of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, as reported by NPR.
Federal Judge Brian Murphy sided with the attorneys, ruling that deportees deserve 15 days and information in their native language to challenge removals to unfamiliar countries, especially those where they might face violence or persecution.
US has used third-country removals before, but South Sudan raises alarms
The use of third countries in deportations isn’t new. In the past, the US has sent migrants to Mexico when their own countries refused to accept them. Vietnam, for instance, has strict conditions for accepting deportees, usually limited to those who arrived before 1995.
But the administration’s turn to countries like South Sudan, and previously Libya, marks a dangerous shift, say legal experts.
“These deportations are happening in a rushed fashion,” said Greg Chen of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “That means the administration is dangerously close to violating due process.”
Detained in Djibouti as case moves to Supreme Court
After Judge Murphy’s injunction, the plane carrying the deportees landed at a military base in Djibouti. The men remain there with ICE agents, stuck in legal limbo as the Biden administration challenges the ruling at the Supreme Court.
The government argues that the judiciary is overstepping into foreign policy and immigration enforcement.
“While certain aliens may benefit from stalling their removal, the Nation does not,” U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer wrote in the appeal.
The Supreme Court is expected to consider the matter after lawyers for the deportees respond by June 4.
‘He already did 25 years’: Wife left with silence and anger
Ngoc Phan hasn’t heard from her husband since he boarded the plane.
“I’m angry about it,” she said. “They want to call him a barbaric monster without really understanding the details of his case… He already did 25 years.”
What was supposed to be the start of a new chapter, one planned and painful, has become a legal and emotional abyss.
You may also like
Donald Trump-Xi Jinping call likely to take place this week amid fresh trade tensions, White House confirms
FPJ Interview: 'Single-Shift NEET-PG A Victory For Fairness And Transparency,' Says Dr Lakshya Mittal
Donald Trump 'open' to meeting Ukraine, Russia leaders to push ceasefire
BMC Elections 2025: Congress Plans Independent Strategy Amid Sena-MNS Alliance Buzz
Indian delegation conveys India's stance on terrorism to Malaysian political leaders, think-tanks
