U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher found the Trump administration in contempt after court records showed an asylum-seeker identified as E.L.A. was deported twice to El Salvador in violation of three court orders. The judge ordered the government to return E.L.A. to the United States and to refrain from executing removal orders until his asylum claim is resolved. The case stems from a 2019 class-action protecting unaccompanied minors; court filings say 107 potentially protected individuals were removed before their claims were decided. Both parties must report on E.L.A.'s return by Oct. 2.
Judge Holds Administration in Contempt After Asylum-Seeker Is Deported Twice to El Salvador
Judge finds Trump administration in contempt for twice deporting asylum-seeker
A federal judge on Friday found the Trump administration in contempt for deporting an asylum-seeker to El Salvador in violation of three court orders.
U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher ordered the government to return the man — identified in court filings as E.L.A. — to the United States and to refrain from enforcing any removal orders against him until his asylum claim is fully adjudicated.
Court documents say E.L.A. was wrongfully removed from the U.S. on two separate occasions. After an initial deportation, he voluntarily boarded a flight on Aug. 7 to return to the United States, "submitted himself" to immigration custody and endured weeks of detention, only to be removed a second time to the country he says he fears.
John Moore/Getty Images - PHOTO: ICE agents depart the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Feb. 4, 2026, in Minneapolis.
The litigation traces to a 2019 federal class-action settlement that protects the asylum rights of people who arrived in the U.S. as unaccompanied minors. According to court filings, at least 107 individuals who should be covered by that settlement — 54 confirmed class members and 53 others the government flagged as potentially protected — were removed under final deportation orders before their asylum claims were decided.
In August, Judge Gallagher previously found the Department of Homeland Security in civil contempt, concluding the government repeatedly deported young asylum seekers it was legally barred from removing. Friday's order requires both parties to provide an update on E.L.A.'s return to the United States by Oct. 2.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Implications: The ruling underscores ongoing court scrutiny of immigration enforcement procedures and highlights potential systemic problems in implementing protections for vulnerable, settlement-covered migrants. The court’s directive to return E.L.A. and halt removals until claims are adjudicated reinforces the legal safeguards created by the 2019 settlement.
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