A Trump-appointed judge has ordered the return of a Venezuelan man recently deported to El Salvador, claiming that his removal violated a previous court settlement.
Concretely, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher made reference to a 2019 class action filed on behalf of people who entered the U.S. as unaccompanied minors and then requested asylum in the country. The Venezuelan man, now 20 years old, fit into that category back then.
The man in question has not been identified, with attorneys using the pseudonym “Christian” in court records. He was among the hundreds of Venezuelans deported to El Salvador’s CECOT maximum security prison.
Gallagher made reference to the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man wrongly deported to the Central American country, saying that like the judge in the case, Paula Xinis, “this court will order Defendants to facilitate Christian’s return to the United States so that he can receive the process he was entitled to under the parties’ binding Settlement Agreement.”
The judge went on to say that the government’s expected actions include “making a good faith request to the government of El Salvador and to release Cristian to U.S. custody for transport back to the United States to await the adjudication of his asylum application on the merits by USCIS.”
The judge, however, drew a contrast with other Venezuelans removed under the wartime Alien Enemies Act after being accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua gang, saying this case “is a contractual dispute because of the Settlement Agreement.”
The Trump administration, in turn, has challenged the argument, saying it is not violating the settlement because “his designation as an alien enemy pursuant to the AEA results in him ceasing to be a member.”
It is unclear whether the Trump administration will comply with the court order, as it is already not abiding by a Supreme Court order in the case of Abrego Garcia. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has also refused to return the man.
Originally published on Latin Times
