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.

Lawyers for some of the eight migrants deported Tuesday said they were told they were being sent to South Sudan. People familiar with the flight said it had landed for the time being in Djibouti.