The Trump administration told a federal court on Wednesday that it is working to bring back a Guatemalan man, identified as O.C.G., who was wrongfully deported to Mexico despite a judge’s order protecting him from removal.
The man, who is gay, feared for his safety in both Guatemala and Mexico. While he was granted protection from deportation to Guatemala, he was nonetheless sent to Mexico, where he had previously experienced rape and extortion while seeking asylum.
US District Judge Brian Murphy found that the deportation likely violated O.C.G.’s right to due process. In response, government attorneys said they had approved a special parole request that would allow O.C.G. to re-enter the US temporarily, pending final approval from Homeland Security Investigations.
ICE officials are coordinating with the man’s lawyers to arrange his return on a government-chartered flight.
Despite the judge’s order, Department of Homeland Security official Tricia McLaughlin criticized Judge Murphy, labeling him an “activist judge,” and argued that Mexico was a safe third country for O.C.G. while his asylum case was being processed.
This case follows similar rulings against the Trump administration for wrongful deportations, including that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who was mistakenly deported and jailed in El Salvador after living in the US for 14 years.
The Supreme Court ultimately ordered the government to bring him back, rejecting claims that it was unable to do so.
Garcia entered the US illegally in 2011 at age 16 and settled in Maryland with his brother. He later began working in construction and built a life with US citizen Jennifer Vasquez Sura. By 2018, they were living together and raising three children, two with autism and one with epilepsy, as reported by The Associated Press.
With inputs from agencies
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