New Court Filing Reveals South Sudan Deportations Endanger Migrants and ICE Officials
ICE deportees to South Sudan endure perilous conditions—including extreme heat, malaria, and rocket attack threats—while detained in converted shipping containers at a Djibouti military base.
Nearly a dozen Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, together with a group of migrants deported to South Sudan by the Trump administration, are currently being housed under dire circumstances in a converted shipping container. A recent court filing reveals that both groups are exposed to extreme heat, disease risk, and ongoing threats of violence, raising serious concerns about their safety and well-being.
The situation escalated after a U.S. District Judge ordered the administration to keep eight recently deported South Sudanese migrants in U.S. custody until they each received a “reasonable fear interview.” This measure is intended to allow the migrants—who were previously removed without the opportunity to challenge their deportations—a chance to demonstrate any credible fear of persecution or torture if returned to their home country. However, the official court filing makes clear that, in the interim, grave dangers persist for both the migrants and accompanying ICE officers.
According to senior ICE official Mellisa Harper, neither the officials nor the migrants were provided with anti-malaria medication before their transit to Djibouti, exposing them to significant disease risk in a region already destabilized by conflict and resource scarcity. The President of South Sudan has declared a state of emergency in parts of the country amidst violent clashes over cattle and water access, compounding the dangers facing the group.
Conditions inside the U.S. military base in Djibouti—where the group is being detained—are also hazardous. Migrants are confined to a repurposed Conex shipping container, and daily temperatures have soared above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, making long-term detention nearly unbearable. Surrounding burn pits used for waste disposal envelop the area in thick smog, potentially exposing detainees and officials alike to toxic materials, especially without adequate ventilation. Some officers have taken to sleeping in N-95 respirator masks in an effort to protect themselves from airborne contaminants.
Harper’s account further details how, within just 72 hours of arrival, numerous individuals began experiencing illness with symptoms such as persistent coughing, breathing difficulties, and joint pain. The filing notes the lack of essential medical testing or available treatment, leaving both detainees and officers vulnerable to worsening health conditions.
Security threats only add to the mounting health risks. Defense Department officials notified ICE personnel upon arrival of the “imminent danger” posed by potential rocket attacks from terrorist groups operating out of Yemen. Lacking protective gear such as body armor, ICE officers are ill-equipped to respond to such threats while stationed at the base.
The growing list of hazards outlined in the court document may intensify calls for urgent action from the administration. The presiding judge has previously criticized the government’s handling of the deportation process, specifically rejecting the notion that his orders compelled officials to transform a foreign military outpost into an ad hoc immigration facility. He emphasized that keeping the migrants under U.S. custody in such a location was suggested and implemented by the administration itself, not required by the court.
As of now, there is no public indication of plans to relocate either the migrants or the ICE officials involved. The uncertainty surrounding their fate—compounded by escalating violence in South Sudan and deteriorating conditions at the Djibouti base—leaves the group in a precarious legal and humanitarian limbo, awaiting further court deliberation and administrative action.
