A federal judge has stranded three ICE officers and their convicted-criminal deportees in Djibouti, Africa, after an order was handed down grounding their flight.
The eight illegal immigrants were on their way to South Sudan in late May when US District Judge Brian Murphy stepped in, claiming the Trump administration "unquestionably" violated a March decision on deportations. The flight then landed in Djibouti, a small nation on the Horn of Africa, with ICE agents being ill-equipped to deal with the "outrageous" conditions.
ALSO SEE: Judge Finds Trump Admin Violated Injunction With Deportation Flights to South Sudan
Three Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have been marooned in Djibouti with eight criminal migrants under “outrageous” living conditions and the threat of rocket attacks from Yemen after a federal judge barred the convicts’ deportation to South Sudan, The Post has learned.
The eight migrants — who have been convicted of murder, sexually assaulting minors, robbery and arson, among other crimes — are being housed in a Conex shipping container on a US naval base in the African country and are watched around the clock by the team of ICE officers.
Pentagon officials warned ICE after the team’s arrival that Camp Lemonnier is at risk of rocket strikes from Houthi terrorists across the Red Sea in Yemen, while the officers have also been exposed to toxic smog from nearby burn pits where locals dispose of trash and human waste.
According to the latest legal declaration from DHS, the agents did not have any malaria medication upon their arrival (it's currently malaria season in Africa), and some reportedly began to feel sick within 72 hours. They are currently sharing bunk beds in a trailer with limited supplies.
The illegal immigrants they were transporting are being held in a converted shipping container on a U.S. naval base, with round-the-clock shifts needed to watch them, including having to escort them for bathroom breaks.
All of the illegal immigrants in question have been previously convicted of heinous crimes.
- Enrique Arias Hierro, a Cuban national, who was convicted in 1999 of attempted second-degree murder and robbery and in 2007 for kidnapping, robbery and impersonating a police officer, earning him a 15-year prison sentence.
- Jose Manuel Rodriguez-Quinones, another Cuban national convicted in 2008 of arson and cocaine trafficking; in 2020 of illegal possession of a firearm; and in 2022 of attempted first-degree murder, earning him a four-year prison sentence.
- Thongxay Nilakout, a Laotian national, who was convicted in 1995 for the first-degree murder of a German tourist in California — and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
- Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez, a citizen of Mexico, who was convicted in 2005 of second-degree murder for stabbing his then-roommate with a knife and later sentenced to 25 years in prison.
- Kyaw Mya, of Myanmar, who was convicted in 2019 for repeatedly sexually assaulting a minor from 2011 to 2017 starting when the victim was 7 years old. Mya was later sentenced to 10 years in prison.
- Nyo Myint, also of Myanmar, who was convicted in 2020 of first-degree sexual assault involving a victim mentally and physically incapable of resisting. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
- Tuan Thanh Phan, of Vietnam, who was convicted in 2001 of first-degree murder after he “randomly” discharged a firearm into a crowd following a gang dispute and later sentenced to 22 years in prison.
- Dian Peter Domach, the only Sudanese national in the group, who was convicted in 2014 of armed robbery and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
The Trump administration has appealed to the Supreme Court to step in regarding this case, but so far, nothing has happened. As I've said before, regardless of what legal arguments exist, the longer this constant stream of lower-court decisions usurping executive power is allowed to continue without any new guardrails put in place, the less credibility the judiciary will enjoy. That's not a good thing for the country, and I sincerely hope this doesn't reach the point where court orders have to be ignored, because if that happens, there's no putting the genie back in the bottle.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump, illegal immigration into our great country has virtually stopped. Despite the radical left's lies, new legislation wasn't needed to secure our border, just a new president.
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