Judge Orders Trump Admin to Facilitate Return of Wrongfully Deported Guatemalan Man

A judge previously ruled that the man should not be returned to Guatemala because of his fears of persecution.

A law enforcement officer surveils a bus used to transport deportees from the United States to Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, Jan. 24, 2025. Rebecca Noble/File Photo/Reuters

A federal judge ruled on May 23 that the Trump administration must facilitate the return from Guatemala of an illegal immigrant who was deported to Mexico in February, after the government admitted to an error in its court statements about his case.

The Guatemalan native, referred to as O.C.G. in court documents, left his homeland in March 2024 and entered the United States without prior authorization to seek asylum. He was sent back to Guatemala, and two months later, O.C.G. tried to reenter the United States through Mexico.