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.

Judge Brian Murphy accused the Trump administration of potentially criminal contempt for deporting migrants to South Sudan, violating a court order. The order was in place to protect migrants from being deported to countries where they might face torture or persecution without due process.