A US federal judge indicated that President Donald Trump’s administration may be in violation of a court order over the deportation of migrants to South Sudan. 

Brian E. Murphy, the US district judge in Massachusetts, made the claim that the US government’s attempt to deport migrants to South Sudan, “unquestionably” breached a court order he issued last month. 

“I have a strong indication that my preliminary injunction order has been violated,” he said.

Judge Murphy’s order prohibits the US government from sending migrants to third world countries without providing them with a “meaningful opportunity” to contest their removal. 

A dozen migrants from countries including Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Cuban and Mexico were held in a detention centre in Texas and scheduled to be flown to South Sudan Tuesday morning. However, there is no indication that they have arrived in South Sudan.

The migrants’ lawyers have argued that relocating them to a foreign country could endanger the migrants’ safety.

Tricia McLaughlin, a homeland security spokesperson, acknowledged the deportation in a briefing on Wednesday, but refused to say that the destination was South Sudan.

“We conducted a deportation flight from Texas to remove some of the most barbaric, violent individuals illegally in the United States. These are the monsters that the district judge is trying to protect,” she said.

The attorneys representing the migrants said they were informed their clients received just over 24 hours notice before being removed. Judge Murphy stated that the small amount of time was “plainly insufficient”.

Maj Gen James Enoka, South Sudan’s police spokesperson, told the Associated Press on Wednesday that no migrants had arrived.

Enoka said that if they did, they would be investigated and “re-deported to their correct country”.