Updated May 22, 2025, 3:40 p.m. ETEight individuals with serious criminal records, including a Burmese refugee residing in Iowa, were put on a plane to South Sudan by the Department of Homeland Security.A federal judge ruled the deportation violated a court order, as the individuals were not given adequate opportunity to object to their transfer.DHS defended the action, emphasizing the severity of the crimes committed by the individuals.A longtime Iowa resident who came to Iowa as a refugee from Burma is among eight people with serious criminal records that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security placed on a flight to South Sudan.A federal judge says the action violated a court order.Kyaw Mya, 43, lived at various times in Des Moines and Marshalltown over a span of at least 14 years, court records show. Mya is a registered sex offender and spent four years in an Iowa prison.U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested him in Iowa in February, according to a news release the DHS issued on Wednesday, May 21, disclosing information about Mya and seven other immigrants placed on the chartered removal flight May 20.It included mugshots of each of the immigrants and listed their criminal records, which included convictions for murder, robbery and rape.DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin in a news conference about the deportation effort admonished reporters to "tell the stories of the innocent Americans they victimized” instead of focusing on the circumstances of their deportation, saying “every single one of them was convicted of a heinous crime.”USA TODAY is contacting attorneys and victims of the crimes from the list of the eight individuals who, in addition to Mya, include murderers and robbers.Massachusetts federal district Judge Brian Murphy ruled later Wednesday that the flight had violated an order he issued in April.In that ruling, Murphy forbade government officials from deporting immigrants to countries that they had not come from. He said government officials had to at least give the immigrants clear information about where they were going and give them time to express any concerns they might have.Murphy ordered the DHS to keep Mya and the other immigrants in U.S. custody, giving them a chance to argue that they have credible fears about being deported. Officials from South Sudan have said they would send the immigrants to their home countries.“It was impossible for these people to have a meaningful opportunity to object to their transfer,” Murphy said.The judge did not say where government officials should keep the migrants. Stephen Miller, White House homeland security adviser, said in a post on X May 21 that the immigrants will spend at least 15 days in Djibouti, an East African country where the U.S. maintains a military base.Miller called Murphy's order "reprehensible, illegal and pathological."Burmese refugee accused of sex with a child in MarshalltownMarshalltown police arrested Mya on three counts of sexual abuse in February 2019. A girl accused him of having sex with her when she was 7 years old.Mya pleaded guilty three months after his arrest to a single, reduced charge of lascivious acts with a child, receiving a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. He served about four years at Newton Correctional Facility before being paroled.While he was in prison, Mya filed a petition asking a judge to vacate his guilty plea.In a typed letter, someone writing on his behalf said Mya did not receive proper legal assistance, in part because he did not receive adequate translation services in court. The author added that Mya did not know how long his prison sentence was going to be when he pleaded guilty and accused Marshalltown police of getting a "forced confession" from Mya.According to the letter, a Marshalltown police investigator testified in a deposition that Mya had previously choked his wife and beaten his sons, allegations Mya denies.A judge over the course of the case assigned several lawyers to represent Mya. Christopher Clausen, the last of them, said he lost track of Mya this year. According to the DHS news release, ICE arrested Mya Feb. 18.Clausen said a courthouse source informed him Mya was being held at the Polk County Jail. In a court filing, Clausen wrote that Mya's stay at the jail "reportedly ended" March 12.According to the Iowa Sex Offender Registry, officers took Mya at the South Texas ICE Processing Center about 55 miles southwest of San Antonio.Spokespeople for ICE, the Iowa Department of Corrections and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment or did not respond to reporter’s emails on Tuesday.Clausen objected to the prospect of his client being deported to a country where he had not lived.“It seems odd to me that a person who is a citizen of Burma could be getting sent to Sudan,” Clausen said. “It sounds like that’s what‘s happening. I didn't think you could get deported to a place where you’ve never been and don’t speak the language. But that seems to be what’s happening here.”Citizen of Laos convicted of killing German touristAnother passenger on the plane, Thongxay Nilakout, a citizen of Laos, shot and killed a German tourist in Southern California in 1994 when he was 17.Nilakout was convicted of slaying Gisela Pfleger and wounding her husband, Klaus, during a robbery. Klaus Pfleger survived and just marked his 93rd birthday.Sentenced to a life term, Nilakout spent nearly 28 years in prison before he was paroled in 2023.The Pflegers’ daughter, Birte Pfleger, is a history professor at California State University, Los Angeles. At the time of the murder, she was attending California State University, Long Beach, and her parents were visiting her.She opposed Nilakout’s parole, which came with help from the University of Southern California’s Post-Conviction Justice Project.After his release from prison, Nilakout was transferred to ICE custody and then released in December 2023. Pfleger said she attempted to prevent his release to transitional housing near her home or work.Now, she said, she opposes the removal to South Sudan. She said she never told her father his attacker was paroled and doesn’t intend to tell him about the removal flight.ICE arrested Nilakout on Jan. 26.“Due process has been violated, and the US legal system has failed twice: at the state level which resulted in Nilakout's parole and at the federal level, which deported Nilakout to a third country that is experiencing violence and famine,” Pfleger wrote in a statement to USA TODAY. “As I helplessly witness this blatant disregard for the rule of law — a foundational principal of this great country — and watch supposed 'leaders' act with impunity, I am afraid for the safety of everyone in this country.”Others sent to South SudanEnrique Arias-Hierro, a citizen of Cuba.Convicted of homicide and armed robbery; sentenced to 15 years confinement.Convicted of false impersonation of official, kidnapping, and robbery strong arm; sentenced to 15 years confinement.Arrested by ICE on May 2, 2025.Jose Manuel Rodriguez-Quinones, a citizen of Cuba.Convicted of attempted first degree murder with a weapon; sentenced to 4 years confinement.Convicted of battery and larceny; sentenced to 10 months confinement.Convicted of cocaine possession and cocaine trafficking; sentenced to 1 year and 3 years confinement respectively. Arrested by ICE on April 30, 2025.Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez, a citizen of Mexico.Convicted of second-degree murder; sentenced to life confinement. Arrested by ICE on May 12, 2025.Dian Peter Domach, a citizen of South Sudan.Convicted of robbery and possession of a firearm; sentenced to 8 years confinement.Convicted of possession of burglar’s tools and possession of defaced firearm; sentenced to 18 months confinement.Convicted of driving under the influence.Arrested by ICE on May 8, 2024.Kyaw Mya, a citizen of Burma.Convicted of Lascivious Acts with a Child-Victim less than 12 years of age; sentenced to 10 years confinement, paroled after 4 years.Arrested by ICE on February 18, 2025. Nyo Myint, a citizen of Burma.Convicted of first-degree sexual assault involving a victim mentally and physically incapable of resisting; sentenced to 12 years confinement.Charged with aggravated assault-nonfamily strongarm.Arrested by ICE on February 19, 2025.Tuan Thanh Phan, a citizen of Vietnam.Convicted of first-degree murder and second-degree assault; sentenced to 22 years confinement.Arrested by ICE on May 3, 2025.