Judge rules Trump administration must seek return of another improperly deported man to El Salvador
A judge appointed by Trump determined that the administration unlawfully deported a 20-year-old Venezuelan man last month, breaching a legally binding, court-approved settlement agreement.
TroibNews 
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration must work to return a second man who was improperly deported from the U.S. to El Salvador, violating a previous court order.
U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, appointed by Trump and based in Maryland, determined that the administration deported a 20-year-old Venezuelan man last month in breach of a legally binding settlement agreement established in a lawsuit from the previous year. This agreement stipulates that the U.S. cannot deport migrants who arrived as unaccompanied minors until their asylum claims are fully considered.
The individual, referred to in court documents only as “Cristian,” came to the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor and applied for asylum in December 2022. His claim was still under review at the time of his deportation.
This latest revelation of improper deportation, first reported by ABC News, is reminiscent of the prominent case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man living in Maryland who was deported to El Salvador despite a 2019 immigration court order preventing the U.S. government from doing so.
The Supreme Court labeled Abrego Garcia’s deportation as “illegal” and upheld a district judge's ruling mandating the U.S. facilitate his return. The Trump administration has contested this directive, asserting that they lack the authority to bring him back, but it has recently indicated that the State Department participated in “appropriate diplomatic discussions” with Salvadoran officials regarding his situation.
Judge Gallagher referenced Abrego Garcia’s case in her ruling.
Both Cristian and Abrego Garcia were among numerous immigrants swiftly placed on planes and sent to a notorious anti-terrorism prison in El Salvador on March 15.
Many of these individuals, including Cristian, were deported under Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely cited law from 1798 that allows the president to rapidly expel foreign invaders during wartime. The Trump administration, often with limited public evidence, accused the deportees of being part of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and classified them as “alien enemies.”
The Justice Department contended that Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act nullified the 2024 settlement that safeguarded Cristian from deportation while his asylum claim was ongoing.
However, Gallagher rejected this argument and ordered the Trump administration “to facilitate Cristian’s return to the United States so that he can receive the process he was entitled to.”
The Biden administration established the settlement in a class-action lawsuit contesting an asylum policy change enacted during Trump’s first term. This settlement applies to a nationwide class of migrants who entered the U.S. before turning 18.
In contrast to Abrego Garcia, who has never faced criminal charges, Cristian was convicted in Texas for cocaine possession, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement official Robert Cerna. Following his conviction, immigration officials detained him in January 2025, near the end of the Biden administration.
In the case involving Abrego Garcia, the Trump administration argued it could comply with the order to “facilitate” his return without directly requesting the Salvadoran government to release him from custody and send him back to the U.S.
Gallagher explicitly denied this narrow interpretation of the term “facilitate” in her ruling concerning Cristian’s deportation.
“Standing by and taking no action is not facilitation. In prior cases involving wrongfully removed individuals, courts have ordered, and the government has taken, affirmative steps toward facilitating return,” Gallagher wrote. She instructed the Trump administration to make “a good faith request to the government of El Salvador to release Cristian to U.S. custody.”
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, overseeing the Abrego Garcia case, agreed on Wednesday to postpone an intensive fact-finding inquiry she had authorized regarding the Trump administration’s improper deportation for one week. The rationale for this delay was not disclosed.
Additionally, the administration is under scrutiny for potentially violating court orders from a third judge, who has prohibited all deportations to countries not mentioned in a migrant’s final removal order. On Wednesday evening, the administration confirmed that four individuals were sent to El Salvador on March 31, despite the judge’s directive, contending that these deportations were conducted by the Pentagon and thus not subject to the court order.
Lawyers who negotiated the settlement last year for asylum seekers who arrived in the U.S. as children raised concerns in a court filing about the Trump administration's unwillingness to disclose whether “Cristian” is the only member of the class who has faced deportation.
“If other Class Members have been removed to El Salvador, they too should be returned,” the attorneys stated.
Mark B Thomas for TROIB News
U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, appointed by Trump and based in Maryland, determined that the administration deported a 20-year-old Venezuelan man last month in breach of a legally binding settlement agreement established in a lawsuit from the previous year. This agreement stipulates that the U.S. cannot deport migrants who arrived as unaccompanied minors until their asylum claims are fully considered.
The individual, referred to in court documents only as “Cristian,” came to the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor and applied for asylum in December 2022. His claim was still under review at the time of his deportation.
This latest revelation of improper deportation, first reported by ABC News, is reminiscent of the prominent case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man living in Maryland who was deported to El Salvador despite a 2019 immigration court order preventing the U.S. government from doing so.
The Supreme Court labeled Abrego Garcia’s deportation as “illegal” and upheld a district judge's ruling mandating the U.S. facilitate his return. The Trump administration has contested this directive, asserting that they lack the authority to bring him back, but it has recently indicated that the State Department participated in “appropriate diplomatic discussions” with Salvadoran officials regarding his situation.
Judge Gallagher referenced Abrego Garcia’s case in her ruling.
Both Cristian and Abrego Garcia were among numerous immigrants swiftly placed on planes and sent to a notorious anti-terrorism prison in El Salvador on March 15.
Many of these individuals, including Cristian, were deported under Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely cited law from 1798 that allows the president to rapidly expel foreign invaders during wartime. The Trump administration, often with limited public evidence, accused the deportees of being part of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and classified them as “alien enemies.”
The Justice Department contended that Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act nullified the 2024 settlement that safeguarded Cristian from deportation while his asylum claim was ongoing.
However, Gallagher rejected this argument and ordered the Trump administration “to facilitate Cristian’s return to the United States so that he can receive the process he was entitled to.”
The Biden administration established the settlement in a class-action lawsuit contesting an asylum policy change enacted during Trump’s first term. This settlement applies to a nationwide class of migrants who entered the U.S. before turning 18.
In contrast to Abrego Garcia, who has never faced criminal charges, Cristian was convicted in Texas for cocaine possession, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement official Robert Cerna. Following his conviction, immigration officials detained him in January 2025, near the end of the Biden administration.
In the case involving Abrego Garcia, the Trump administration argued it could comply with the order to “facilitate” his return without directly requesting the Salvadoran government to release him from custody and send him back to the U.S.
Gallagher explicitly denied this narrow interpretation of the term “facilitate” in her ruling concerning Cristian’s deportation.
“Standing by and taking no action is not facilitation. In prior cases involving wrongfully removed individuals, courts have ordered, and the government has taken, affirmative steps toward facilitating return,” Gallagher wrote. She instructed the Trump administration to make “a good faith request to the government of El Salvador to release Cristian to U.S. custody.”
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, overseeing the Abrego Garcia case, agreed on Wednesday to postpone an intensive fact-finding inquiry she had authorized regarding the Trump administration’s improper deportation for one week. The rationale for this delay was not disclosed.
Additionally, the administration is under scrutiny for potentially violating court orders from a third judge, who has prohibited all deportations to countries not mentioned in a migrant’s final removal order. On Wednesday evening, the administration confirmed that four individuals were sent to El Salvador on March 31, despite the judge’s directive, contending that these deportations were conducted by the Pentagon and thus not subject to the court order.
Lawyers who negotiated the settlement last year for asylum seekers who arrived in the U.S. as children raised concerns in a court filing about the Trump administration's unwillingness to disclose whether “Cristian” is the only member of the class who has faced deportation.
“If other Class Members have been removed to El Salvador, they too should be returned,” the attorneys stated.
Mark B Thomas for TROIB News
