THE US has deported eight people to South Sudan following a legal battle that saw them diverted to Djibouti for several weeks.
The men – convicted of crimes including murder, sexual assault and robbery – had either completed or were near the end of their prison sentences.
Only one of the eight is from South Sudan. The rest are nationals of Myanmar, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos and Mexico. US officials said most of their home countries had refused to accept them.
The Trump administration is working to expand its deportations to third countries.
It has deported people to El Salvador and Costa Rica. Rwanda has confirmed discussions and Benin, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini and Moldova have been named in media reports as potential recipient countries.
A photo provided by the department of homeland security to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, showed the men on the plane, their hands and feet shackled.
Officials did not say whether the South Sudanese government had detained them or what their fate would be.
Edmund Yakani, who runs a civil society organisation in South Sudan, told the BBC World Service he was allowed to briefly see the eight people, but did not get a chance to speak to them.
The eight were in a civilian facility in the capital Juba under the watch of police and the national security service, Mr Yakani said, adding they were not in handcuffs and appeared to be in good condition.
The status of the group was still unclear and he hopes the government provides clarity on Monday, he added.
South Sudan remains unstable and is on the brink of civil war, with the US State Department warning against travel because of “crime, kidnapping and armed conflict”.
The eight had initially been flown out of the US in May, but their plane was diverted to Djibouti after US district judge Brian Murphy in Massachusetts blocked the deportation. He had ruled that migrants being deported to third countries must be given notice and a chance to speak with an asylum officer.
But last week, the Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration and overturned Judge Murphy’s ruling. On Thursday, the Supreme Court confirmed that the judge could no longer require due process hearings, allowing the deportations to proceed.
Lawyers then asked another judge to intervene but he ultimately ruled only Judge Murphy had jurisdiction. Judge Murphy then said he had no authority to stop the removals due to the Supreme Court’s “binding” decision.