Eight migrants held in shipping container for weeks, deported to South Sudan despite legal appeals
Sep 5, 2025
Eight migrants from Burma, Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, Mexico, and South Sudan were detained in a converted shipping container at a U.S. military base in Djibouti for more than six weeks while awaiting appeals filed by their lawyers. On July 5, 2025, they were deported to South Sudan. ICE agents transporting them described the living conditions as 'outrageous.' Mexican citizen Jesús Muñoz was subsequently repatriated to Mexico in early September, and South Sudanese citizen Peter Domach was released. Six other deportees' whereabouts remain unknown, with lawyers suggesting they may be imprisoned at the Blue House, South Sudan's National Security Services headquarters. The South Sudan government stated it would guarantee their safety but refused to disclose their location or eventual fate.
Timeline
Sources
- PBS
- Trump administration has floated deporting third-country nationals to Africa. Here's what we know
Associated Press·Jul 11, 2025·archived copy
- Straitjackets and military aircraft: How the Trump administration is making dozens of migrants disappear in Africa
english.elpais.com·Oct 26, 2025·archived copy
- US deportations to third countries shrouded in secrecy
english.elpais.com·Sep 5, 2025·archived copy
- Third Country Deportation Watch
- americanimmigrationcouncil.org
- globalsecurity.org
- TCD Tracker - USCRI
refugees.org·Jul 21, 2026·archived copy
- foreign.senate.gov
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