Federal judge halts Trump administration's deportation flight to war-torn South Sudan hours before takeoff

Federal Judge Randolph Moss issued an emergency order on July 4, 2025, temporarily blocking the deportation of eight migrants to South Sudan just hours before their scheduled 7 PM flight. The dramatic halt came less than 24 hours after the Supreme Court’s conservative majority cleared the way for their removal, overriding a Boston judge’s protections. 

The men, from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Sudan and Vietnam, had been held six weeks at Camp Lemonnier, a U.S. military base in Djibouti, where they lived in converted shipping containers amid malaria risks and inadequate medical care . 

Moss’s order, expiring at 4:30 PM ET, allowed time to hear arguments that deporting them to a country where they have no ties violates their due process rights.