Eight migrant detainees who were on a US flight destined for South Sudan are currently at a US military base in Djibouti, awaiting next steps as details over their case are hammered out in court, two US officials told CNN.

Karoline Leavitt commented on a deportation flight reportedly linked to South Sudan, blaming a judge who ruled the Trump administration had violated a court order.

The judge says the administration "unquestionably" violated his earlier order, which stated migrants cannot be deported to a country other than their own without having adequate notice and a chance to object.

A chartered removal flight with eight men convicted of crimes in the United States, including one from Iowa, took off for South Sudan.