The Trump administration accused a federal district judge of defying the Supreme Court’s new deportation ruling by insisting the administration still cannot swiftly remove a group of migrants with serious criminal records to South Sudan.
“This motion addresses the district court’s unprecedented defiance of this
Court’s authority,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote to the justices Tuesday.
A day earlier, the Supreme Court lifted U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy’s injunction that guaranteed migrants the ability to raise persecution claims before the Trump administration deports them to a country where they have no ties, known as third-country removals.
Murphy issued that injunction in April. The next month, he ruled an airborne deportation flight to the war-torn country of South Sudan was violating his order and U.S. officials must retain custody of the migrants, who have violent and serious criminal convictions, until they have a chance to raise their legal defense.
The migrants are currently detained in a shipping container at a military base in Djibouti, and the Trump administration has raised safety concerns for the agents guarding the migrants.
Latching onto Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s 19-page dissent on Monday, the judge now insists his remedy for the South Sudan flight remains in “full force” because the Supreme Court only lifted his original April injunction.
Murphy told the migrants that it was “unnecessary” for him to issue a new ruling preventing officials from moving them to South Sudan since they were still protected. Murphy is an appointee of former President Biden.
As is often the case, the Supreme Court majority hadn’t included an explanation of their emergency ruling. The Trump administration now wants the justices to clarify that it also lifts the restrictions on the migrants once destined for South Sudan.
“The district court’s ruling of last night is a lawless act of defiance that, once again, disrupts sensitive diplomatic relations and slams the brakes on the Executive’s lawful efforts to effectuate third-country removals,” Sauer wrote in the new motion.
The defiance accusations come after Democrats and various plaintiffs have repeatedly accused the Trump administration of flouting Supreme Court rulings since taking office. Several district judges have also ruled that the administration violated their injunctions.
