US judge orders Trump administration to facilitate return of Guatemalan deportee

A US federal judge on Friday ordered President Donald Trump's administration to facilitate the return of a gay Guatemalan man, who said he was deported to Mexico despite fearing he would be persecuted there, after officials acknowledged an error in his case.

US district judge Brian Murphy in Boston issued the order days after the justice department notified him its claim the man had expressly stated he was not afraid of being sent to Mexico was based on erroneous information.

The justice department said last week that on further investigation officials were unable to identify any immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) officer who had asked the man, identified as “OCG”, about fears he had for his safety.

Murphy, an appointee of Trump's Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, called the case a “horror” and said “while mistakes obviously happen, the events leading up to the decision are troubling”.

The ruling marks the latest instance of a judge ordering Trump's administration to facilitate the return of a migrant swept up in the Republican's efforts to carry out mass deportations as part of his hard line immigration agenda after a mistake in an individual's case.

In a class-action lawsuit filed by OCG and other migrants, the judge had blocked the administration from swiftly deporting people to countries other than their own without first hearing concerns they had about their safety.

“Due process is, in some sense, a binary — one either receives what the constitution requires, or one does not,” Murphy wrote.

“It has been clear OCG did not receive what the constitution requires.”

The department of homeland security, which oversees ICE, and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The government also made an error with Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador in March despite an order protecting him from removal. He remains there, despite a judge ordering the administration to facilitate his return.

Friday's ruling comes two days after Murphy, in the class action lawsuit case, concluded the Trump administration had violated his earlier ruling by attempting to deport a group of migrants to South Sudan.

According to his lawyers, OCG is a gay man who fled Guatemala in 2024 after facing death threats based on his sexuality. He entered the US through Mexico in May 2024.

Murphy said while an immigration judge in February found OCG deserved protection from being returned to Guatemala, authorities two days later wrongly placed him on a bus to Mexico, where he had recently been raped and kidnapped.

Trina Realmuto, a lawyer for OCG at the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, said his legal team was “elated” by Murphy's ruling and would work to facilitate a return plan.

After arriving in Mexico, OCG had to choose between waiting months in detention to apply for asylum in Mexico or return to Guatemala. He chose the latter and went into hiding, his lawyers said.

Reuters