WASHINGTON – The Trump administration revealed that migrants, who were initially supposed to be deported to South Sudan, are currently being held in a modified shipping container on a U.S. naval base in Djibouti. They are facing challenges such as scorching temperatures, smoke from burning waste pits nearby, and the imminent danger of rocket attacks.
In court documents filed before a federal judge overseeing a lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement for rapid deportations of migrants to countries they have no connection to, officials described the harsh living conditions the individuals are enduring.
After a U.S. District Judge in Boston ruled that the Trump administration had violated his order by promptly sending eight migrants from countries like Cuba and Vietnam to South Sudan, the authorities diverted the deportation flight to Djibouti, located approximately 1,000 miles away from South Sudan.
The judge said that men from other countries must have a real chance to raise fears about dangers they could face in South Sudan.
The men’s lawyers, though, have still not been able to talk to them, said Robyn Barnard, senior director of refugee advocacy at Human Rights First, whose stated mission is to ensure the United States is a global leader on human rights. Barnard spoke Friday at a hearing of Democratic members of Congress and said some family members of the men had been able to talk to them Thursday.
The migrants have been previously convicted of serious crimes in the U.S., and President Donald Trump’s administration has said that it was unable to return them quickly to their home countries. The Justice Department has also appealed to the Supreme Court to immediately intervene and allow swift deportations to third countries to resume.
The case comes amid a sweeping immigration crackdown by the Republican administration, which has pledged to deport millions of people who are living in the United States illegally. The legal fight became another flashpoint as the administration rails against judges whose rulings have slowed the president’s policies.
The Trump administration said the converted conference room in the shipping container is the only viable place to house the men on the base in Djibouti, where outdoor daily temperatures rise above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), according to the declaration from an ICE official.
Nearby burn pits are used to dispose of trash and human waste, and the smog cloud makes it hard to breathe, sickening both ICE officers guarding the men and the detainees, the documents state. They don’t have access to all the medication they need to protect against infection, and the ICE officers were unable to complete anti-malarial treatment before landing, an ICE official said.
“It is unknown how long the medical supply will last,” Mellissa B. Harper, acting executive deputy associate director of enforcement and removal operations, said in the declaration.
The group also lacks protective gear in case of a rocket attack from terrorist groups in Yemen, a risk outlined by the Department of Defense, the documents state.
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Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this story.
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