Attorneys say U.S. immigration authorities appear to have begun deporting migrants to South Sudan

WASHINGTON (AP) — Immigration authorities appear to have begun deporting migrants from Myanmar and Vietnam to South Sudan despite a court order on removals to third countries, attorneys for the migrants said Tuesday.

Up to a dozen people from several countries may have been deported to Africa, immigration rights lawyers told a judge.

An immigration official in Texas confirmed in an email that at least one man from Myanmar had been flown to South Sudan Tuesday morning, according to court documents.

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A woman also reported to attorneys that her husband from Vietnam and up to 10 other people were flown to Africa on Tuesday.

Those removals would violate a court order from a judge in Massachusetts requiring that people must have a chance to challenge removals to countries other than their homelands, attorneys from the National Immigration Litigation Alliance wrote.

They asked Judge Brian E. Murphy for an emergency court order to prevent removal without an opportunity to go to court. He previously said deportations to Libya would violate his ruling.

The Department of Homeland Security and the White House did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

South Sudan’s political landscape is fragile and recent violence between government troops and armed opposition groups has escalated tensions.

Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this report.