A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to return a 20-year-old Venezuelan migrant who was deported to El Salvador last month, stating the removal violated a court-approved settlement. Known by the pseudonym Cristian in court documents, the young man was deported on March 15 following the Trump-era Alien Enemies Act (AEA) proclamation targeting the alleged “invasion” of the U.S. by the Tren de Aragua gang.
Cristian had been part of a 2019 class action lawsuit involving undocumented migrants who arrived in the U.S. as unaccompanied minors and were waiting for their asylum applications to be fully reviewed. A settlement was finalized in 2024, protecting such individuals from removal until their cases were resolved by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Despite this agreement, Cristian was deported without a final decision on his asylum case. His legal team filed an emergency motion on April 14, arguing the deportation breached the settlement.
Government attorneys claimed Cristian was excluded from the class due to his designation under the AEA proclamation, citing a January arrest for cocaine possession as justification. However, Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher dismissed this reasoning, emphasizing that deporting any class member before a USCIS ruling directly violated the settlement terms.
“The removal from the United States of a Class Member, including but not limited to Cristian, without a final determination on the merits by USCIS…violates the Settlement Agreement,” Gallagher stated.
The judge cited a similar case involving Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man also deported to El Salvador under controversial conditions. Like in that case, she ordered that the U.S. facilitate Cristian’s return, which includes formally requesting his release from Salvadoran custody and repatriating him for his asylum process.
Furthermore, Gallagher instructed the Trump administration to halt any future removals of class members under the same agreement. Migrants will remain protected until USCIS issues a final decision on their asylum applications, at which point they will no longer be considered part of the class.