The Trump administration has announced the deportation of a group of eight men convicted of serious crimes in the United States to the conflict-ridden African country of South Sudan, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The deportations came after a lengthy legal dispute that kept the deportees at a military base in Djibouti for weeks.

The deportations to South Sudan, a country ravaged by armed conflict and political instability that the U.S. government is warning Americans not to visit, mark an unprecedented new milestone in the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

Only one of the deportees is from South Sudan. The others are from Cuba, Mexico, Laos, Myanmar, Sudan, and Vietnam and were ordered deported from the United States after being convicted of crimes including murder, manslaughter, sexual assault, lewd acts with a child, and robbery.

The high-profile legal battle over the men’s fate culminated Friday when two federal judges denied a last-ditch attempt by immigrant rights advocates to halt the deportations, saying their hands were tied by recent U.S. Supreme Court orders.

These deportations represent a major political victory for the Trump administration, which has sought to convince countries around the world, regardless of their human rights records, to accept deportees who are not their citizens, including those convicted of serious crimes.

“A district court judge cannot dictate the national security or foreign policy of the United States,” said DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin. “This Independence Day marks another victory for the security of the American people.”