Trump Admin Strives to Reclaim Deported Guatemalan Man Denied Due Process

The Department of Homeland Security is endeavoring to return an immigrant who was wrongfully removed to Mexico via a chartered flight back to the United States, according to the Trump administration. told a judge on Wednesday.

This disclosure marks the initial public indication that the Trump administration might adhere to court instructions aimed at bringing back at least one man who was expelled without following the necessary legal procedures. Nonetheless, the administration has defied mandates issued by two additional judges seeking the reinstatement of two separate immigrants whose deportations were deemed unlawful.

The latest developments emerged in the case involving a Guatemalan man named solely as O.C.G. in legal documents. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy presided over the proceedings. ruled that officials needs to take "every urgent measure" to help him come back.

O.C.G. alleged that he suffered rape and harassment due to his sexual orientation during a prior time in Mexico. Murphy, appointed by Biden, determined that O.C.G. did not receive adequate warning or the chance to voice his concerns regarding potential torture or persecution before being swiftly expelled to Mexico under the Trump administration’s orders in February.

Federal law along with a treaty approved by the U.S. prohibits deporting immigrants to countries where they would be at risk of facing torture.

Following his deportation from the U.S., O.C.G. was sent back to Mexico, which then expelled him to his native Guatemala, a place where he has encountered similar harassment and dangers. According to his legal representatives, he is currently in hiding at his sibling's residence in Guatemala.

Immigration authorities currently state they are organizing his flight back to the U.S.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Phoenix "is presently collaborating with ICE Air to facilitate O.C.G.'s return to the United States via an Air Charter Operations (ACO) flight on its return trip," according to a court submission from federal authorities on Wednesday evening.

The status update significantly differs from how the administration has previously dealt with the cases of two other deported individuals who they have been instructed to attempt to repatriate. Kilmar Abrego Garcia and Daniel Lozano-Camargo Both individuals were sent back to El Salvador in March, and they are still incarcerated there.

The Supreme Court in April noted that Abrego Garcia’s deportation was deemed "unlawful" Since it breached a 2019 immigration court directive prohibiting officials from removing him to El Salvador, the justices upheld the lower-court judge’s instruction for the administration to arrange his repatriation.

A separate federal judge determined that Lozano-Camargo’s deportation breached a court-agreed-upon accord designed to shield specific immigrants who entered the U.S. as juveniles. A federal appellate court supported the judge’s directive to assist with his reinstatement.

However, the Trump administration has not publicly attempted to reintroduce Abrego Garcia or Lozano-Camargo into the U.S., despite Trump’s assertion that he could have brought Abrega Garcia back with just one telephone call.

The administration also did not comply In March, following an order from another judge mandating officials to redirect two aircraft carrying a group of individuals being deported out of the nation.

Murphy rejected the government’s plea on Monday to revisit his directive for the reinstatement of O.C.G. He further noted that the administration had consistently disregarded another order he had previously handed down. send multiple immigrants on a plane to South Sudan Last week, in a rush to expel the men.