The Trump administration today confirmed the deportation of eight migrants, acknowledging the action in court after being pressed on an apparent flight of Asian migrants to the African nation of South Sudan.
In a briefing held on Wednesday, immigration authorities stated that all eight individuals had been convicted of serious crimes in the U.S. and that their home countries had refused to accept their repatriation.
A federal judge had convened an emergency hearing after ruling on Tuesday that U.S. officials were obligated to retain custody and control of the migrants, in the event he determined their removal was unlawful.
Attorneys representing the immigrants had expressed concerns that individuals from Myanmar and Vietnam were reportedly flown to South Sudan, despite a court order limiting removals to other nations.
During the press briefing, featuring Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, and Deputy Director Madison Sheahan, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the successful deportation of these individuals, whom they described as “uniquely monstrous and barbaric” criminals. The administration emphasized their removal as a critical measure to protect American citizens.
Assistant Secretary McLaughlin opened the briefing by detailing a “diplomatic and military security operation” that culminated in a deportation flight from Texas yesterday.
She stated that “no country on Earth wanted to accept them because their crimes are so uniquely monstrous and barbaric,” highlighting that each individual had been convicted of heinous crimes including murder, rape, child rape, and the rape of mentally and physically handicapped victims.
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“These heinous individuals have terrorized American streets for too long,” McLaughlin asserted, crediting the State Department, ICE, and the President’s National Security team for securing a nation willing to accept custody of these “vicious illegal aliens.” The objective, she said, is to ensure these individuals “can never hurt another American victim.”
McLaughlin then sharply criticized a local judge in Massachusetts who is reportedly attempting to force the U.S. government to bring these individuals back.
“While we are fully compliant with the law and court orders, it is absolutely absurd for a district judge to try to dictate foreign policy and national security,” she said, contrasting the administration’s efforts to remove criminals with what she termed “activist judges…fighting to get them back onto United States soil.”
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons elaborated on the severity of the deported individuals’ crimes, citing examples such as an individual convicted of homicide and armed robbery who served 15 years, and another sentenced to life for first-degree murder. Lyons explained that due to countries’ refusal to repatriate their citizens, ICE was previously forced to release such dangerous offenders back into American communities. He specifically mentioned the deportation of an individual who raped and sexually assaulted a mentally handicapped victim, made possible after ICE secured a third country willing to accept him.
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“As a career law enforcement officer…I’ve been dealing with these recalcitrant countries for years, having to see repeated, murderous sex offenders, violent criminals re-released back into the United States because their home countries would not take them back,” Lyons stated. He commended President Trump and Secretary Noem for enabling the removal of these “public safety threats.”
Deputy Director Madison Sheahan thanked President Trump and Secretary Noem for their “steadfast commitment to the American people and the men and women of ICE.”
She reiterated ICE’s commitment to removing “the worst of the worst” from communities and criticized “activist judges stepping in in a way that we have never seen before to put criminals first and not the American people.”
McLaughlin declined to disclose the specific destination of the flight or the exact whereabouts of the individuals, citing “safety and operational security” concerns given the violent nature of the criminals. When asked about working with the State Department to identify partner countries, McLaughlin praised their role in brokering agreements, especially when dealing with nations initially unwilling to accept such “heinous individuals.”
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Lyons affirmed that the individuals received due process and highlighted that the third-country agreement is codified in the Immigration and Nationality Act. He further thanked the men and women of ICE, especially the special response teams and high-risk teams, for their dangerous work in transporting these “most violent people.”
Assistant Secretary McLaughlin concluded the briefing by imploring journalists to “do your job” and “tell the stories of the innocent Americans who they victimized,” providing names of the deported individuals and urging media to “stop doing the bidding of these disgusting individuals.” She stressed that “it’s the American victims who actually matter.”
The Tampa Free Press has contacted DHS for a copy of the handout from the press briefing and information on the deportees and victims in each case.
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