Judge rules US officials must keep control of migrants sent to South Sudan

Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

A federal judge ruled late on Tuesday that US officials must retain custody and control of migrants apparently removed to South Sudan in case he orders their removals were unlawful.

US District Judge Brian E Murphy in Massachusetts issued the ruling after an emergency hearing, after attorneys for immigrants said the Trump administration appears to have begun deporting people from Myanmar and Vietnam to South Sudan — despite a court order restricting removals to other countries.