A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that the U.S. government violated his court order by attempting to deport migrants to South Sudan, opening another front in a battle between Donald Trump and judges who have imposed checks on the Republican president’s hardline immigration policies.
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy said U.S. officials risked being held in contempt of court for violating a preliminary injunction he issued in April to block the administration from sending deportees to countries other than their own without the opportunity to raise any concerns they had for their safety.
At a hearing in Boston, the judge said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security failed to provide six migrants covered by his injunction a meaningful opportunity to contest being sent to South Sudan when it notified them of that possibility less than 24 hours before they were loaded onto a plane.
That was “plainly insufficient” notice, according to the judge. He later issued an order making clear that non-citizens must be given at least 10 days to raise a claim that they fear for their safety before they are deported to a country other than their own.
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