A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a third improperly deported man late Friday, saying his removal likely “lacked any semblance of due process.”
The administration removed the Guatemalan man, identified as O.C.G. in court filings, to Mexico despite his fear of persecution after being held for ransom and raped there.
Initially, the Justice Department told the court that the man had affirmatively stated to authorities he had no fear of being sent to Mexico, only to retract the claim as an “error” last week.
“No one has ever suggested that O.C.G. poses any sort of security threat,” U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy wrote in his 14-page ruling.
“In general, this case presents no special facts or legal circumstances, only the banal horror of a man being wrongfully loaded onto a bus and sent back to a country where he was allegedly just raped and kidnapped,” he continued.
Murphy, an appointee of former President Biden who serves in Boston, ordered the administration take “all immediate steps” to “facilitate” the man’s return to the U.S. and provide an update within five days.
He called the case “troubling,” also chastising the administration for accidentally revealing the man’s full name in a prior court filing despite his ruling to use pseudonyms.
The Hill has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment.
O.C.G. entered the U.S. twice last year. After his first attempt, he was deported back to Guatemala. As he crossed through Mexico on his second try, court documents show he was raped and held hostage until a family member paid ransom, the documents read.
After arriving in the U.S. once again, an immigration judge issued a ruling protecting O.C.G., who is gay, from being deported to Guatemala, finding he would likely suffer from persecution or torture.
Instead, the administration days later put the man on a bus to Mexico, where he was then given the option of being detained in the country as he sought asylum or return to Guatemala. O.C.G chose Guatemala, the filing said.
“Since I arrived here, I have been living in hiding, in constant panic and constant fear. I’ve been here living this way for over two months,” O.C.G. wrote in a sworn declaration filed with the court on Thursday.
The judge also found that O.C.G.’s removal to Mexico had likely violated his due process rights.
The man is represented by the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and Human Rights First.
The ruling is the third time a federal judge has ordered the administration to seek the return of a migrant improperly deported amid President Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown.
For weeks, the administration has battled over a judge’s order to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly removed to El Salvador despite an immigration judge’s ruling protecting him from being deported there.
And on Monday, a federal appeals court in a 2-1 vote refused to lift another judge’s order to facilitate the return of a 20-year-old, identified as “Cristian” in court documents, in violation of a legal settlement.
He was deported to a Salvadoran megaprison in mid-March under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a rarely used, wartime law that allows for swift deportations under certain circumstances.
The administration has accused both men of being Venezuelan gang members.
“The Court notes that ‘facilitate’ in this context should carry less baggage than in several other notable cases,” Murphy wrote in Friday’s ruling.
“O.C.G. is not held by any foreign government. Defendants have declined to make any argument that facilitating his return would be costly, burdensome, or otherwise impede the government’s objectives,” he wrote.
The judge added, “The Court anticipates that Defendants will take at least the same level of action as is routine to return lawfully removed aliens.”
