A Guatemalan migrant who says he was wrongfully deported to Mexico by the Trump administration has now been returned to the United States. This is the first known case where the Trump administration followed a judge’s order to bring a deported migrant back.
The man, known in court documents as O.C.G., returned to the US on Wednesday. His legal team confirmed he landed safely and got in touch with the lawyers handling his case. He is currently being held by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to Trina Realmuto, head of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance.
The Trump administration had resisted similar court orders before. But in this case, officials told the court last week they were working to return O.C.G. after he was wrongly removed from the US. He was supposed to be sent back to Guatemala but was instead deported to Mexico.
The Department of Homeland Security said that O.C.G. was in the country illegally and had been approved only to return to Guatemala. However, a judge ruled that sending him to Mexico and later to Guatemala likely violated his legal rights because he didn’t get a fair chance to explain his fears.
Court documents say O.C.G. was a victim of violence in Guatemala and asked for asylum after entering the US again in 2024. During his journey, he said he was raped and kidnapped in Mexico. He told the immigration judge about this, hoping it would stop his deportation.
In 2025, a judge agreed that he should not be returned to Guatemala because of the danger he faced. But just two days later, US authorities deported him anyway, first to Mexico, then to Guatemala. O.C.G. later said he was hiding and living in fear while back in Guatemala.
He also claimed that he was not given a proper chance to explain his fears of being deported to Mexico and that his requests to speak with a lawyer were ignored. The government originally said he had no fear of returning to Mexico, but later admitted they had no proof of that.
The ruling against the Trump administration adds pressure, as courts are now demanding answers in other similar cases. Other judges have criticized officials for not obeying orders to return migrants wrongly deported to unsafe countries like El Salvador. More legal battles are expected as judges continue to push back on these controversial deportations.