The Voice News: The U.S. Justice Department is working to arrange a charter flight to bring a Guatemalan man, known only as O.C.G., back to the United States after a federal judge ruled that his deportation violated due process.
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy issued the order last week, stating that the Trump administration failed to follow legal procedures when it removed O.C.G. from the country. The court found that O.C.G., who has no criminal record, sought asylum in the U.S. after facing multiple violent attacks in Guatemala.
After initially entering the U.S. illegally in March 2024 and being deported, O.C.G. returned and formally presented himself to Border Patrol for asylum. In February 2025, an immigration judge determined he would face significant harm if returned to Guatemala and granted a “withholding of removal” order, which legally blocked his deportation there.
Despite that ruling, O.C.G. was abruptly placed on a bus and deported to Mexico just two days later. His attorneys say he was denied access to legal counsel and was not informed of the destination. During a previous attempt to reach the U.S., O.C.G. was kidnapped and sexually assaulted in Mexico—a fact he submitted as evidence during his asylum hearing.
After being expelled to Mexico, Mexican authorities deported him to Guatemala, where he remains in hiding, according to court records.
Judge Murphy criticized the government for failing to follow the required legal process, writing that “necessary steps, and O.C.G.’s pleas for help, were ignored.” He also noted that the Justice Department’s claim—that O.C.G. told officials he wasn’t afraid of being sent to Mexico—was unsupported. No witness could verify that claim, and the sworn statement was later withdrawn by the government.
“The only evidence before the Court is O.C.G.’s uncontroverted assertion that he was given no notice of his transfer to Mexico and no opportunity to explain why it would be dangerous to send him there,” Murphy wrote.
The ruling adds to broader legal criticism of the Trump administration’s deportation policies. In a similar case, a judge ordered the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongly deported to El Salvador. Despite a Supreme Court ruling in his favor, Abrego Garcia remains imprisoned there.