Wrongly deported Guatemalan man back in US after court order

ISTANBUL

The Trump administration brought back a Guatemalan man to the US from Mexico after a judge ruled he was deported without due process on Wednesday.

The man, identified as O.C.G., is expected to remain in US federal custody as authorities decide how to proceed with his case, The New York Times reported.

Last month, the Trump administration said it was arranging a charter flight to return O.C.G. after Brian Murphy, a US district judge in Boston, ordered his return.

O.C.G. applied for asylum in the US in 2024 after suffering violent attacks in Guatemala and abuse in Mexico, but was deported to Mexico despite an immigration judge's order in February.

From Mexico, authorities deported O.C.G. to Guatemala, where he lived in fear of being targeted again by his past attackers.

Judge Murphy criticized officials for initially claiming that the man was not afraid of deportation to Mexico, only to later admit they could not identify any official to whom the man had made such a statement.

The judge also found that the administration violated his April order, which prohibits deporting immigrants to third countries without providing them a meaningful chance to challenge their removal.

O.C.G. is not the only deportee ordered back by US courts. In March, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador, but the Trump administration has yet to comply with a judge’s order for his return. Similarly, Venezuelan national Daniel Lozano-Camargo was deported to the same prison, with a court order issued for his repatriation.