Trump administration defends flight of migrants to third countries

A U.S. Air force flight carrying migrants deported by the US government arrives at Ramon Villeda Morales International Airport in January 2025 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Jorge Salvador Cabrera/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Jorge Salvador Cabrera/Getty Images The Trump administration is doubling down on its decision to send migrants to countries that aren’t their own following a legal challenge to a flight allegedly headed toward South Sudan. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons told reporters on Wednesday that the eight people on the flight out of the U.S. had been convicted of crimes in the United States and that ICE was not able to return them to their home countries. Lawyers for at least one of the men on board say the flight is headed to South Sudan, but the government hasn’t disclosed the destination, saying it’s classified. Sponsor Message “We found a nation who was willing to take custody of these vicious illegal aliens,” said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, about the Asian men on the flight. “Now, a local judge in Massachusetts 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 and American victims.” The comments came after a federal judge in Massachusetts ordered the Department of Homeland Security to keep custody of migrants sent to South Sudan, or any third country, until he can verify they received proper due process. The order was in response to an emergency filing from lawyers who said their Vietnamese client was given little notice before being put on a plane to the African country, one of the world’s poorest and most politically unstable. Immigration Judge questions government lawyers over alleged deportations to South Sudan Lawyer says client “has been disappeared” Jonathan Ryan, a lawyer with the legal nonprofit Advokato, told NPR that what is striking is the complete lack of information the group is working with. Ryan said he does not know the full name or criminal background of his client, who he believes was sent to South Sudan, and simply knows him as “N.M.” They spoke briefly on May 16, but N.M. does not speak English. Ryan began looking for an interpreter, but by the next day, was informed his client had been moved to another facility, further away. In a second phone call, despite background noise and his client’s broken English, he was able to discern that his client had been given paperwork, which he’d refused to sign. Sponsor Message By Monday afternoon, Ryan was perplexed when he received an email from ICE saying his client was being sent to South Africa. Shortly thereafter he received another notification from ICE: his client was being sent to South Sudan. Attorney Jonathan Ryan says he was perplexed to receive this notice on May 19th, stating his client – whom he hadn’t been able to have a meaningful conversation with- was being deported to South Africa. Courtesy of Jonathan Ryan./Jonathan Ryan hide caption toggle caption Courtesy of Jonathan Ryan./Jonathan Ryan Shortly after receiving a notice that his client, “M.N” was being sent to South Africa, Ryan received another notice: his client was being sent to South Sudan. Courtesy of Jack Ryan./Jack Ryan. hide caption toggle caption Courtesy of Jack Ryan./Jack Ryan. “No meaningful opportunity at all was provided to him to express a fear of being sent to South Sudan,” Ryan said. “And let’s be honest, it’s quite possible that my client has never heard of South Sudan.” World South Sudan is ‘on the brink,’ U.N. warns amid renewed violence Still, because he has been unable to contact him, Ryan is unclear about N.M.’s actual location. “Let’s be clear: my client has been disappeared. I do not know where he is. The federal judge does not know where he is,” Ryan said. Government officials in a late-Tuesday hearing said that ultimately N.M. was being sent to Burma, even after being notified he was being sent to two other countries first. But Ryan is skeptical of those claims. “I want to speak with my client. I want him to tell me that he is in Burma,” Ryan said. “Because I don’t know. As far as I’m concerned, he’s sitting in South Sudan with a guard potentially of the United States, potentially of South Sudan, hovering over him, telling him to tell me that he is in Burma. We simply don’t know what’s happening.” South Sudan pushes back against being a third country The Trump administration has aimed to use third country destinations to remove individuals that cannot be sent back to their home countries for a variety of reasons. McLaughlin told reporters that it was possible South Sudan was not the final destination for the eight men on the flight. The department referred questions about third-country negotiations to the State Department and doubled down on saying they are adhering to court orders. The State Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about where a recent plane full of migrants was sent, and what their ultimate destination was. Sponsor Message South Sudan’s police spokesman told NPR the country will not accept migrants deported from the United States unless they are South Sudanese nationals. Politics Trump uses third countries for removals The spokesman denied any arrival of flights of deportees from the U.S. by Wednesday evening local time. He said any non-South Sudanese migrants arriving in the country would be re-deported to their correct country of origin. The government spokesman also denied there’s any deal with the U.S to accept deportees. South Sudan is not the first country to voice an opposition to being a so-called third country. Earlier this month, Libyan officials also rejected reports that they would take in deportees from the U.S. if they were not Libyan nationals. Other countries such as El Salvador and Mexico have served as these third country destinations for migrants who cannot be sent back to their home countries, as the U.S. seeks more destinations for people it wants to deport from the U.S. If you have immigration tips you can contact our tip line, on Whatsapp and Signal: 202-713-6697 or reporters Jasmine Garsd: [email protected]  and Ximena Bustillo [email protected] Emmanuel Igunza contributed to this report.