U.S. Deports Eight Criminals To South Sudan After Supreme Court Ruling

The United States has deported eight foreign nationals to South Sudan after a prolonged legal battle and logistical delays, in a case that highlights growing tensions over international deportation policies and migrant rights. The group, which includes men convicted of serious crimes such as murder, sexual assault, and robbery, had either completed or were nearing the end of their prison sentences in the U.S.

Despite only one of the eight being a South Sudanese national, all were deported to South Sudan due to complications with repatriation. The remaining individuals hail from Myanmar, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, and Mexico. According to U.S. officials, their home countries refused to accept their return, prompting the U.S. to turn to third-country deportation.

The move follows a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned a lower court’s ruling which had required due process for migrants deported to third countries. The decision effectively clears the path for the U.S. to continue removing foreign nationals regardless of nationality to countries willing to receive them.

This case also revives elements of the Trump administration’s controversial deportation strategy, which sought agreements with nations such as Rwanda, Benin, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, and Moldova to accept non-citizen deportees from the United States.

Initially, the men had been rerouted to Djibouti before their final transfer to South Sudan. The U.S. had previously revoked visas for several South Sudanese nationals after the East African nation refused to cooperate with U.S. deportation demands. With this latest deportation, South Sudan appears to have relented under diplomatic pressure.

The case is already drawing scrutiny from human rights advocates and legal experts concerned about the precedent it sets for due process and the ethics of third-country deportations. Critics argue that deporting individuals to nations they have no ties to can place them in grave danger and violates fundamental principles of international law.

As the U.S. continues to grapple with immigration policy, enforcement, and the fallout from diplomatic standoffs with non-cooperative home countries, the question of where and how non-citizen offenders are deported remains a controversial and evolving issue.