Judge Orders Repatriation of Deported Asylum Seeker

(MENAFN) A U.S. federal court has determined that the Trump administration must take immediate measures to return a Guatemalan asylum applicant who was wrongfully expelled from the country earlier this year.

This decision comes despite the individual expressing significant fears of brutality and mistreatment, as reported by U.S. news outlets on Saturday.

The asylum seeker, referred to in legal filings as O.C.G., sought refuge in the United States in 2024 after allegedly suffering several violent assaults in his home country, according to documents referenced by a news agency.

While traveling through Mexico on his way to the U.S., O.C.G. was reportedly subjected to sexual violence and kidnapped for ransom—traumas he disclosed during his immigration proceedings.

Although an immigration court initially concluded that he should not be removed to Guatemala, O.C.G. was nevertheless transported to Mexico just two days later.

This occurred without giving him a complete opportunity to present his full case or communicate with his legal representative.

Subsequently, Mexican officials deported him to Guatemala, where he now lives in constant fear of being re-attacked by those who previously harmed him, legal documents reveal.

The news agency cited a legal opinion from U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy issued late Friday, stating that the manner of O.C.G.’s expulsion likely breached his constitutional right to due process.

Despite O.C.G.’s expressed fears regarding relocation to Mexico, the presiding immigration judge had reportedly assured him that such a move would require further legal steps—procedures that were ultimately skipped, according to the ruling.

“Those necessary steps, and O.C.G.’s pleas for help, were ignored. As a result, O.C.G. was given up to Mexico, which then sent him back to Guatemala, where he remains in hiding today,” Murphy said.

MENAFN26052025000045017167ID1109593898