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.
The immigration judge subsequently ruled that O.C.G. should not be returned to Guatemala because of his fears of persecution. Two days after being granted withholding of removal, he was placed on a bus to Mexico without being given the chance to speak to his attorney, court documents stated.
After arriving in Mexico, O.C.G. was given a choice of whether to remain in detention while applying for asylum in Mexico or be sent back to Guatemala. He chose to return to Guatemala, where he has remained since, according to court documents.
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy said that government lawyers initially said that O.C.G. had verbally expressed that he was not afraid of being sent to Mexico, citing data entries from immigration officers.
The attorneys later admitted they could not identify any immigration officers to support that claim.
“No one has ever suggested that O.C.G. poses any sort of security threat,” Murphy stated in a 14-page order. “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.”
Murphy acknowledged that mistakes can happen but said, “the events leading up to this decision are troubling.”
“The Court was given false information, upon which it relied, twice, to the detriment of a party at risk of serious and irreparable harm,” he stated. Murphy ordered discovery, including depositions of those involved in giving the false information and related data entries.
In an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, Homeland Security Department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the administration remains committed to returning the U.S. asylum system to its “original intent.”
“America’s asylum system was never intended to be used as a de facto amnesty program or a catch-all, get-out-of-deportation-free card,” McLaughlin stated.
“The person in question was an illegally present alien who was granted withholding of removal to Guatemala. He was instead removed to Mexico, a safe third option for him, pending his asylum claim,” she added.
Trina Realmuto, a lawyer for O.C.G. at the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, said that his legal team was “elated” by Murphy’s ruling and would work to facilitate a return plan.
The Supreme Court has ordered the administration to facilitate his return to the United States. The administration said it lacks the authority to return him because he is now in the custody of Salvadoran authorities.
