A Guatemalan citizen was returned to the United States on Wednesday following a judicial order requiring the Trump administration to facilitate his reentry after being wrongfully deported to Mexico, despite his expressed fears of persecution there. This case represents the first successful return of a migrant following several similar judicial directives to the Trump administration.On May 23, US district Judge Brian Murphy in Boston mandated the man’s return after the justice department acknowledged providing incorrect information regarding the man’s stated fears about being sent to Mexico. This decision exemplifies recent judicial interventions against administrative errors in deportation cases under the current immigration policy, Reuters reported.The case differs from that of Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who remains in El Salvador despite a judicial order for his return following an erroneous March deportation that violated a protective order.The Guatemalan individual, referred to as OCG in legal documents, travelled back via commercial aircraft, according to his legal representative Trina Realmuto from the National Immigration Litigation Alliance. Unlike other cases involving deportees to El Salvador, OCG was not in detention abroad. The administration had previously indicated plans to arrange his return via charter flight.“We can now confirm that he is in ICE custody after arriving in California on a commercial flight and is being transported to a detention facility in Arizona,” Realmuto said, referring to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, in a statement called the judge an “activist” whose ruling gave OCG “an opportunity to prove why he should be granted asylum to a country that he has had no past connection to.”His return occurs while the administration awaits the US Supreme Court’s decision regarding Judge Murphy’s injunction in a class action lawsuit, which safeguards migrants’ due process rights. The injunction prevents rapid deportations to third countries without considering safety concerns.Judge Murphy recently determined that the administration breached his order by attempting to deport migrants to South Sudan. These individuals remain in Djibouti pending safety assessments regarding their potential return to conflict-affected South Sudan.OCG, according to his legal team, is a gay man who left Guatemala in 2024 after receiving death threats related to his sexuality. He entered the United States through Mexico in May 2024.Judge Murphy’s ruling noted that despite an immigration judge’s February decision granting OCG protection from returning to Guatemala, authorities incorrectly transported him to Mexico two days later, where he had previously experienced rape and kidnapping. In Mexico, OCG faced the choice between extended detention whilst seeking asylum or returning to Guatemala, ultimately choosing the latter and going into hiding.
