A federal judge on Wednesday ruled the Trump administration violated a court order when it expelled eight immigrants this week to South Sudan without giving them at least 15 days to challenge their removal. Judge Brian Murphy said immigration officials had only given the men 24 hours’ notice. But Murphy did not order the men to be returned to the U.S. as their lawyers had requested. Their plane is believed to have landed in Djibouti Wednesday, but it’s not clear if it would continue on to South Sudan, which observers fear could be on the brink of a new civil war. Only one of the men is from South Sudan; the others are nationals of Cuba, Mexico, Laos, Vietnam and Burma.
This comes amid mounting reports of ICE arrests outside immigration courts, as agents prey on people who are dutifully appearing for their hearings. Community members have started showing up to courts to protest the arrests and inform immigrants of their rights. Immigration lawyers fear the arrests will scare people into skipping their court hearings, making them subject to possible immediate deportation.