A judge appointed by President Donald Trump has ordered the Trump administration to return a Venezuelan man who was deported to El Salvador after being granted asylum under a previous court settlement.
It is the second time in the last month that the administration has been ordered to return someone deported to the Central American country.
U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher ruled on Wednesday that the Trump administration violated a settlement from a 2019 class action lawsuit in which unaccompanied minors were granted asylum.
The man who was deported was a 20-year-old Venezuelan named “Cristian.” He was aboard a March 15 flight that sent alleged MS-13 gang members to an El Salvador prison.
Gallagher referenced Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant and alleged MS-13 member who was also deported to El Salvador in violation of a court ruling, in her opinion.
“Like Judge [Paula] Xinis in the Abrego Garcia matter, this court will order Defendants to facilitate Cristian’s return to the United States so that he can receive the process he was entitled to under the parties’ binding Settlement Agreement,” Gallagher wrote.
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However, Trump administration lawyers argued that Cristian, who was arrested and convicted on cocaine charges in January, was not excluded from removal.
“On March 15, 2025, [Cristian] was removed under the Alien Enemies Act, 50 U.S.C. Ch. 3, pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 10,903, as a Venezuelan citizen 14 years of age or older who is a member of TdA,” Robert Cerna, the acting Field Office Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations, said.