People place flowers on a fence outside Krome Detention Center in Miami, Saturday, May 24, 2025, during a vigil to honor those who have died while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, as well as individuals impacted by widespread deportations. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
The Trump administration has admitted to deporting an individual earlier this month in defiance of court orders—highlighting ongoing scrutiny over the government’s deportation procedures.
It appears that a miscommunication among federal immigration officials resulted in Jordin Melgar-Salmeron’s deportation to El Salvador on May 7, as revealed by court documents submitted by the Justice Department this week.
Though a panel of judges with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City forbade Melgar-Salmeron from being removed until his immigration case was duly heard by the courts (until at least the following day on May 8), the Salvadoran immigrant was on an “ICE Air” flight leaving the country just 28 minutes later.
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The erroneous deportation appeared to stem from a breakdown in communication. Melgar-Salmeron was being held at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Buffalo, New York, until he was transferred to Alexandria, Louisiana on May 2. However, the Buffalo ICE office maintained “docket control” or “administrative responsibility” over the man’s case.
“In maintaining administrative responsibility of Petitioner, [Enforcement and Removal Operations] Buffalo was responsible for monitoring Petitioner’s petition for review and motion for a stay of removal,” the DOJ attorney defending ICE wrote to the panel of judges.
It was also the Buffalo ICE office’s responsibility to schedule Melgar-Salmeron’s removal, the DOJ attorney said.
Peter Sukmanowksi, assistant field director for the Buffalo ICE office, admitted in an affidavit that “ERO Buffalo did not directly communicate to ERO New Orleans” that ICE promised to halt any such deportation effort until at least May 8. Melgar-Salmeron’s expulsion date was actually scheduled for May 9 – and it remains unclear why the deportation occurred two days before.
The DOJ’s filing on May 28, came in response to questions raised by the court as to why Melgar-Salmeron was expelled though the judge had imposed a stay of removal. The DOJ attorney conceded the improper deportation was due to “a confluence of administrative errors.”
These errors included the ICE Buffalo officer responsible for Melgar-Salmeron’s case not being forwarded an email sent to other officers at the facility on May 6, that the man was set to be on the ICE Air deportation flight the following day, according to the DOJ lawyer.
“Due to an oversight, and because of the volume of emails received pertaining to removal flights, the ERO Buffalo officers who received the emails did not forward them to Petitioner’s assigned ERO Buffalo officer,” the government attorney wrote.
The documents also state that on the morning of May 7, Melgar-Salmeron was “not present” among the people scheduled to be removed and thus labeled a “no-show” on the flight manifest. However, afterward, he was indeed located and loaded onto the flight – but the manifest was never updated to reveal he had been found.
Melgar-Salmeron had been incarcerated in the U.S. since 2021 for pleading guilty to charges of entering the United States without permission and possessing a shotgun, according to the Investigative Post. Now, he remains in a Salvadoran prison where fears of “ill-treatment” and “torture” run rampant, according to human rights organizations.
His attorney, Matthew Borowski, seeks the return of his client as well as criminal contempt of court charges against the Trump administration. “Until these guys start facing real consequences for their actions, they’re going to continue to snub court orders and violate law,” he told the outlet.
Melgar-Salmeron’s case is the fourth known case of President Donald Trump’s administration improperly deporting someone. The most notable is that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man the Trump administration admitted was “wrongfully deported” to El Salvador. His case ignited a political firestorm over due process.
Another was that of Daniel Lozano-Camargo, whom a federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump ruled was “wrongfully” deported to El Salvador in violation of a legal settlement agreement. However, as in the case of Abrego Garcia, federal officials have not appeared to take any steps to facilitate his return.
Finally, there is the case of a man only referred to as “O.C.G.,” who federal officials acknowledged was erroneously deported and, following a judge’s order, are taking steps to return – in what appears to be the first instance of the government doing so in such a case.
