U.S. officials confirmed that Britania Uriostegui Rios, a transgender woman, was inadvertently deported to Mexico in November despite a March court order finding she faced a likely risk of torture there. Authorities say they are working to return her from Tijuana and to identify another country that could accept her. Uriostegui Rios is also suing to secure her release upon return. The case follows a similar wrongful deportation earlier this year that drew national attention.
U.S. Immigration Officials Say Trans Woman Was Mistakenly Deported to Mexico Despite Court Order
U.S. officials confirmed that Britania Uriostegui Rios, a transgender woman, was inadvertently deported to Mexico in November despite a March court order finding she faced a likely risk of torture there. Authorities say they are working to return her from Tijuana and to identify another country that could accept her. Uriostegui Rios is also suing to secure her release upon return. The case follows a similar wrongful deportation earlier this year that drew national attention.
07:23 AM, 11/19/2025Politics
U.S. immigration officials have acknowledged that Britania Uriostegui Rios, a transgender woman, was accidentally deported to Mexico in November in violation of a March court order that found she would likely face torture if returned there. Authorities say they are working to bring her back from Tijuana and are also pursuing alternative countries that could lawfully accept her.
Uriostegui Rios, a Nevada resident, lost her lawful permanent resident status in 2023 after pleading guilty to a felony assault with a deadly weapon. She received a suspended sentence and was placed in removal proceedings, and an immigration judge subsequently ordered her deportation earlier this year. That judge explicitly barred deportation to Mexico, concluding she was likely to be targeted because of her transgender status.
Despite that court order, attorneys for Uriostegui Rios say she was suddenly moved from Louisiana to Texas and put on a bus bound for Mexico. After her lawyers raised questions, the Department of Justice acknowledged the error in a federal-court filing.
"ICE confirmed that your client was removed to Mexico inadvertently," a Justice Department attorney wrote in an email filed in federal court. The filing added: "ICE stands ready to remedy the inadvertent removal by allowing your client to voluntarily reenter the United States if your client wishes to do so."
According to court documents, since March the administration has attempted unsuccessfully to repatriate Uriostegui Rios to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador. Uriostegui Rios has also filed suit seeking her release from custody if and when she is returned to U.S. soil.
Government agencies named in the filings include the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which have been contacted for comment.
Related case and broader context
The episode echoes an earlier case this year involving Kilmar Ábrego García, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March despite a court order barring his removal because he faced gang-related threats to his family. After national attention and legal pressure, he was returned to the United States in June.
On the day Ábrego returned, he was indicted on human-smuggling charges; a federal judge later said the indictment could represent an improper act of retaliation. Ábrego pleaded not guilty. Federal officials have said that if he is convicted he would be deported; a U.S. immigration judge denied his asylum claim last month, though he retains the right to appeal.
This most recent mistaken removal raises fresh questions about compliance with court orders and the safeguards in place to protect people—particularly those at heightened risk such as transgender individuals—from being returned to countries where they may face torture or violence.