Florida judge halts deportation of 92 Somalis shackled on plane for 48 hours

Judge’s order came after lawyers filed class action lawsuit against US government that alleged the Somalian immigrants were held in ‘inhumane conditions’

Amanda Holpuch in New York
Wed 20 Dec ‘17 16.45 GMT

A Florida judge has halted the deportation of 92 Somali men and women who alleged US immigration authorities physically abused them when they were shackled on an airplane for nearly 48 hours during a failed attempt to return the group to Somalia.

US federal district judge Darrin Gayles halted their deportation hours after lawyers filed a class action lawsuit against the government that alleged the Somalian immigrants were held in “inhumane conditions” on the airplane and faced heightened danger in Somalia because of subsequent media attention.

The group of deportees, which included people who had lived in the US for decades, were headed to Somalia on 7 December when the flight was turned back to the US from Dakar, Senegal, after being held there for 23 hours.

The judge’s order on Tuesday night stops the government from deporting the men and women for at least two weeks. The government said in court on Tuesday that it had planned to try to deport the group again on Wednesday morning.

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