July 4 (Reuters) - Eight migrants lost their last-ditch effort to halt their deportation to South Sudan by the Trump administration on Friday, clearing the way for their imminent transfer after a judge in Massachusetts denied their request.
Lawyers for the U.S. Justice Department said the men were scheduled to be flown to South Sudan on Friday at 7:00 pm Eastern Time after two courts considered the request on an emergency basis on July 4, when courts are otherwise closed for the Independence Day holiday.
Lawyers for the migrants had filed new claims in Washington late Thursday after the U.S. Supreme Court clarified that a judge in Massachusetts could no longer require the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to hold them. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington paused the deportation briefly on Friday afternoon, but sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston.
Murphy said the Supreme Court order required him to deny their bid, saying their claims that deportation was being used as a form of punishment were “substantially similar” to the ones he had ruled on previously.