Judge Finds Trump Administration in Contempt for Deporting Asylum-Seeker Twice

A federal judge has found the Trump administration in contempt for twice deporting an asylum-seeker to El Salvador in violation of three court orders. U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher ordered the government to return the man, identified in court documents as E.L.A., to the United States and to cease any further removal actions until his asylum case is fully processed.

According to court documents, E.L.A. was wrongfully removed from the U.S. on two occasions. Following his first deportation, he voluntarily returned to the U.S., surrendered to immigration custody, and was subsequently deported a second time to his country of origin, where he fears persecution.

The case is connected to a 2019 federal class-action lawsuit that safeguards the asylum rights of immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as unaccompanied minors. Court documents indicate that at least 107 individuals protected by the settlement have been removed under final deportation orders before their asylum claims were adjudicated.

In August, Judge Gallagher previously found the Department of Homeland Security in civil contempt, ruling that the government had repeatedly deported young asylum seekers it was legally barred from removing. The judge has mandated that both parties provide an update on E.L.A.'s return to the U.S. by October 2. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.