Eight migrants deported from the United States have been transferred to South Sudan

Eight irregular migrants from various countries, deported from the United States in May, arrived in South Sudan on Saturday, July 5, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and an official at the African country's State Department announced. They had previously been held at a U.S. military base in Djibouti after a judge suspended such deportations on the grounds that the migrants were not given a "meaningful opportunity" to contest them.

But on Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld their deportation to South Sudan, one of the world's poorest countries and plagued by chronic instability. International law prohibits the return of irregular migrants to countries where they risk torture or execution.

U.S. authorities say the eight men, some of whom have completed their sentences, were convicted of violent crimes. Only one migrant is from South Sudan. The group also includes two Burmese, two Cubans, a Vietnamese, a Laotian, and a Mexican. Their respective countries have refused to return them, a reason given by the Trump administration for sending them to a third country.

"They arrived in Juba [the capital of South Sudan] at 5 a.m. today [Saturday] from Djibouti," said a South Sudanese official, who requested anonymity, adding that they had been transported by the US Marines. In a statement, the US Department of Homeland Security welcomed the deportation "after weeks of delays by militant judges." "These sick people are finally being deported to South Sudan on Independence Day," said a spokeswoman for the department, Tricia McLaughlin.

US President Donald Trump has made combating illegal immigration a top priority of his second term and has promised to deport millions of irregular migrants. He advocates using third-party countries in the face of the refusal of some countries of origin to take back their citizens.

Having gained independence in 2011, South Sudan experienced a civil war from 2013 to 2018 that left 400,000 people dead, and the UN fears a return to full-scale conflict. Since January, tensions between President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar, who is under house arrest, have spiraled into open clashes between their armed forces. According to the UN, approximately 900 people were killed between January and April.