Why Is the U.S. Seeking to Deport Migrants to Conflict-Ridden South Sudan?

The Trump administration is attempting to deport a group of eight migrants to South Sudan, a nation currently teetering on the edge of civil war.

These men, originating from countries including Vietnam, Cuba, and Mexico, are reportedly being held at a U.S. military base in Djibouti, East Africa, following a federal judge's order preventing their transfer to South Sudanese authorities.

Under certain conditions, U.S. immigration law permits the transfer of individuals to countries other than their own, though such actions have historically been rare in previous administrations.

The current administration is pushing a broader initiative: potentially relocating large groups of people to dangerous locations such as South Sudan, Libya, or a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, often with minimal or no procedural safeguards—even when their home countries are willing to accept them back.

"The combination of being sent to a third country, the scale this is intended to reach, and the punitive intent behind it—that mix feels unprecedented," noted Sarah R. Sherman-Stokes, a law professor at Boston University.