A federal judge in Massachusetts has cleared the way for the Trump administration to deport eight migrants to South Sudan, rejecting a final legal challenge on Friday and setting the stage for their imminent removal.
The group—comprising men from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Burma, Sudan, and Vietnam—argued that deporting them to South Sudan, a country plagued by violence and political instability, would violate their constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment. Several of the men, according to the Department of Homeland Security, have been convicted of serious crimes, including murder.
Their legal team had filed emergency appeals in both Washington and Boston courts late Thursday after a U.S. Supreme Court decision undercut a previous block on their removal. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington temporarily paused the deportation but ultimately returned the case to Boston Judge Brian Murphy, who ruled that he was bound by the Supreme Court’s order.
Judge Murphy said the men’s latest arguments were “substantially similar” to previous claims he had already denied, and that the Supreme Court had made it clear his previous injunctions no longer held.
The ruling marks the latest development in a prolonged legal fight that has seen the case bounce between district courts and the Supreme Court, as the Trump administration pursues high-profile deportations to countries where migrants say they face serious risks.
Jennie Pasquarella of the Seattle Clemency Project, who represents the men, expressed deep disappointment. “Both courts’ decisions today have denied them their opportunity to be heard and to protect their own lives,” she said. The group does not plan to appeal.
A Homeland Security spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
During Friday’s hearing, DOJ attorney Hashim Mooppan told the court that halting deportations can damage U.S. diplomatic relations and discourage other countries from cooperating on transfers. He emphasized that deportation, even to unstable countries, is a legal tool for managing immigration and criminal justice outcomes.
South Sudan remains volatile, with the U.S. State Department warning against travel due to widespread violence and a fragile peace deal. The United Nations has said renewed conflict remains a strong possibility.
Judge Moss acknowledged the gravity of the men’s safety concerns. “It seems almost self-evident that the United States government cannot take human beings and send them into conditions that risk their lives simply to punish them or send a message,” he said. But in the end, he deferred to procedural jurisdiction.
The legal standoff began months ago, when Judge Murphy blocked the deportations in May, citing violations of due process and lack of opportunity for the men to raise safety concerns. That order followed an earlier April injunction, also against deportations to countries with no clear ties to the migrants. The Supreme Court stayed the April ruling on June 23 and, over dissent from two justices, extended that stay to Murphy’s May ruling last Thursday—effectively greenlighting the deportations.
The men were expected to be deported Friday evening.