Trump administration returns deported Guatemalan migrant following court ruling

A Guatemalan man who was deported to Mexico by the Trump administration has been returned to the U.S. this week, according to his lawyers. This marks the first known instance of the Trump administration complying with a judge’s orders to return an individual removed from the U.S. based on erroneous information.
The individual, known only as O.C.G., was deported to Mexico in March but has now been brought back to the U.S. via a commercial flight. This comes after U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy ruled that O.C.G. had been deported without due process and despite his fears of persecution. The judge ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return.
O.C.G. had previously been held for ransom and raped in Mexico but was not given the opportunity to assert those fears before his removal. Judge Murphy emphasized that the removal process lacked any semblance of due process, stating that the case presented the “banal horror” of a man being wrongfully sent back to a country where he faced threats.
The news of O.C.G.’s return comes amidst a broader court battle over Trump’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport migrants more quickly. Many individuals were sent to CECOT, El Salvador’s maximum-security prison, under this law. The Trump administration has not complied with federal court orders to facilitate the return of these individuals to the U.S.
However, in O.C.G.’s case, he had not been detained in Mexico, which may have facilitated his return. The Trump administration has yet to comment on whether they plan to follow suit in other cases where individuals were wrongfully deported.
In a separate ruling, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to provide all migrants removed to CECOT under the Alien Enemies Act the opportunity to contest their removal and challenge their alleged gang status. This ruling is likely to spark a legal showdown with the administration, as Trump officials have criticized judges who rule against them.
Overall, the return of O.C.G. to the U.S. highlights the importance of due process in immigration proceedings and the need to ensure that individuals are not wrongfully deported. It remains to be seen how the Trump administration will respond to similar cases in the future.