Trump Administration Defends Deportation Flight to South Sudan

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday defended its decision to deport eight migrants on a flight to South Sudan but remained coy about whether the war-torn nation would be the group’s “final destination.”

The flight came after multiple court decisions barring DHS from removing migrants from the country, including an emergency order requiring the U.S. government to maintain custody of the men.

In a rushed press conference, DHS officials described the eight men as “monsters” while attacking a Massachusetts-based federal judge set to hold a hearing on the matter later Wednesday.

“No country on Earth wanted to accept them, because their crimes are so uniquely monstrous and barbaric. These heinous individuals have terrorized American streets for too long,” said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at DHS, noting the men had been convicted of crimes such as rape and murder.

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The Trump administration later identified the individuals who were on the flight and their crimes. While the administration said each individual had been convicted of various “heinous” crimes, it was not immediately clear when or where some of them were convicted.

One of the individuals on the flight is Thongxay Nilakout, a native of Laos who was convicted in a 1994 killing of a German tourist in Southern California. Nilakout was 17 at the time of the crime. A state hearing panel recommended his release in 2022.

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It included Dian Peter Domach of South Sudan, who was convicted of a DUI and robbery and possession of a firearm; Kyaw Mya, a Myanmar citizen who was convicted of lascivious acts with a child under 12; Tuan Thanh Phan, a Vietnamese citizen convicted of first-degree murder and second-degree assault; and Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez, a Mexican citizen convicted of second-degree murder.

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