Latest news with #ENFORCE
Miami Herald
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Donald Trump Hit by Legal Blow Over Deportation Error: ‘Horror'
On Friday a District Court Judge in Boston ruled that the Trump administration must seek to facilitate the return to the United States of a Guatemalan man who said he was erroneously deported to Mexico in February despite fears for his safety. Newsweek contacted the Department of Justice via media inquiry form on Saturday outside of regular office hours. The Trump administration is involved in a number of legal battles concerning migrants who say they were mistakenly deported from the U.S. under its direction, including two individuals who were sent to a super prison in El Salvador. With the Republicans enjoying a majority in both the House and Senate, the courts have emerged as a major impediment to Trump administration policy, and have ruled against the government on a range of issues including the presence of transgender personnel in the military and a foreign aid freeze. District Judge Brian Murphy on Friday instructed the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a Guatemalan, identified as O.C.G, to the U.S. following his deportation in February. Initially the Justice Department said O.C.G. had stated he wasn't afraid of being sent to Mexico, but after further investigation admitted this was incorrect. According to court documents O.C.G. claimed he had suffered "multiple violent attacks" in his native Guatemala and was also raped and held for ransom in Mexico before seeking asylum in the U.S. in 2024. However in February, two days after receiving asylum status, he was forced on a bus back to Mexico and currently lives "in constant fear of his attackers" in Guatemala according to his legal team. Murphy concluded that the deportation of O.C.G. likely "lacked due process" and that the individual shouldn't have been sent to Mexico without additional steps which "were ignored." In a court filing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said O.C.G. had mistakenly been entered in a software system known as the "ENFORCE alien removal module" leading to his deportation. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations assistant field office director Brian Ortega said: "Upon further investigation…ICE was unable to identify an officer or officers who asked O.C.G. if he feared a return to Mexico." In March the Trump administration admitted it had mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Maryland resident, to a super prison in El Salvador. Arrested in 2019 and accused of being part of the MS-13 gang—a group the Trump administration labels a terrorist organization—Abrego Garcia denied the claim, though two judges found him to be a member based on confidential information provided to the court. He had been protected from deportation due to fears that rival gangs in El Salvador would target him. ICE officials said his deportation was the result of an "administrative error." Abrego Garcia has no U.S. criminal record. In his ruling Murphy wrote: "O.C.G. was given up to Mexico, which then sent him back to Guatemala, where he remains in hiding today. "No one has ever suggested that O.C.G poses any sort of security threat. In general, this case presents no special facts or legal circumstances, only the banal horror of a man being wrongfully loaded onto a bus and sent back to a county where he was allegedly just raped and kidnapped." It is likely legal battles over migrants deported to third countries by the Trump administration will continue. In April a judge instructed the Trump administration to "facilitate" the return of Abrego Garcia to the U.S., but he remains in an El Salvadorian prison and its unclear what will happen with his case. Related Articles Harvard Student Blasts Trump: Attacking 'Very Basis of My College Life'Donald Trump Deporting Fewer Mexican Citizens Than Joe Biden-OfficialProposal May Ban Some Green Card Holders from Owning Land Throughout StateKristi Noem's Immigration Game Show Would Be Appalling-and a Ratings Hit | Opinion 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Newsweek
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Donald Trump Hit by Legal Blow Over Deportation Error: 'Horror'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. On Friday a District Court Judge in Boston ruled that the Trump administration must seek to facilitate the return to the United States of a Guatemalan man who said he was erroneously deported to Mexico in February despite fears for his safety. Newsweek contacted the Department of Justice via media inquiry form on Saturday outside of regular office hours. Why It Matters The Trump administration is involved in a number of legal battles concerning migrants who say they were mistakenly deported from the U.S. under its direction, including two individuals who were sent to a super prison in El Salvador. With the Republicans enjoying a majority in both the House and Senate, the courts have emerged as a major impediment to Trump administration policy, and have ruled against the government on a range of issues including the presence of transgender personnel in the military and a foreign aid freeze. What To Know District Judge Brian Murphy on Friday instructed the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a Guatemalan, identified as O.C.G, to the U.S. following his deportation in February. Initially the Justice Department said O.C.G. had stated he wasn't afraid of being sent to Mexico, but after further investigation admitted this was incorrect. According to court documents O.C.G. claimed he had suffered "multiple violent attacks" in his native Guatemala and was also raped and held for ransom in Mexico before seeking asylum in the U.S. in 2024. However in February, two days after receiving asylum status, he was forced on a bus back to Mexico and currently lives "in constant fear of his attackers" in Guatemala according to his legal team. A stock photograph shows a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus holding a picture of Kilmar Abrego Garcia during a news conference to discuss Abrego Garcia's arrest and deportation at Cannon House Office Building in... A stock photograph shows a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus holding a picture of Kilmar Abrego Garcia during a news conference to discuss Abrego Garcia's arrest and deportation at Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C., on April 9, 2025. More Alex Wong/GETTY Murphy concluded that the deportation of O.C.G. likely "lacked due process" and that the individual shouldn't have been sent to Mexico without additional steps which "were ignored." In a court filing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said O.C.G. had mistakenly been entered in a software system known as the "ENFORCE alien removal module" leading to his deportation. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations assistant field office director Brian Ortega said: "Upon further investigation…ICE was unable to identify an officer or officers who asked O.C.G. if he feared a return to Mexico." In March the Trump administration admitted it had mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Maryland resident, to a super prison in El Salvador. Arrested in 2019 and accused of being part of the MS-13 gang—a group the Trump administration labels a terrorist organization—Abrego Garcia denied the claim, though two judges found him to be a member based on confidential information provided to the court. He had been protected from deportation due to fears that rival gangs in El Salvador would target him. ICE officials said his deportation was the result of an "administrative error." Abrego Garcia has no U.S. criminal record. What People Are Saying In his ruling Murphy wrote: "O.C.G. was given up to Mexico, which then sent him back to Guatemala, where he remains in hiding today. "No one has ever suggested that O.C.G poses any sort of security threat. In general, this case presents no special facts or legal circumstances, only the banal horror of a man being wrongfully loaded onto a bus and sent back to a county where he was allegedly just raped and kidnapped." What Happens Next It is likely legal battles over migrants deported to third countries by the Trump administration will continue. In April a judge instructed the Trump administration to "facilitate" the return of Abrego Garcia to the U.S., but he remains in an El Salvadorian prison and its unclear what will happen with his case.
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Software Glitch' ... Trump administration acknowledges error in high-profile deportation case after being sued
In a an ongoing legal battle over deportation, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has reportedly acknowledged that a key claim it made in response to a lawsuit filed by a Guatemalan man deported to Mexico was based on erroneous information. According to a report in Politico, the admission came in a recent court filing, casting doubt on the Trump administration's defense in a high-stakes class action lawsuit challenging its deportation practices. The lawsuit was filed in March by a Guatemalan man identified in court documents only as O.C.G., who argued he was wrongly deported to Mexico despite expressing fears of persecution there. In its initial response, the Trump administration asserted that O.C.G. himself had stated he was not afraid to be sent to Mexico. Immigration authority calls it error in software tool, ENFORCE However, ICE, as per the report, has now retracted this claim. In a sworn statement submitted to the federal judge overseeing the case, Brian Ortega, assistant field office director for ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations, stated that "Upon further investigation ... ICE was unable to identify an officer or officers who asked O.C.G. if he feared a return to Mexico." The agency attributed the error to a "software tool" known as ICE's " ENFORCE alien removal module ," which is used to track deportation cases and allows staff to input comments. The US District Judge Brian Murphy , a Biden appointee based in Massachusetts, previously cited the disputed claim as a reason for not immediately ordering O.C.G.'s return from Mexico. Instead, Judge Murphy reportedly ordered expedited fact-finding, which ultimately led to ICE's admission of the error. The judge noted last month that the discrepancy surrounding O.C.G.'s alleged statement was a significant factor in his decision not to grant immediate relief. This admission, Politico report claims, marks the latest in a series of instances where federal judges have faulted the Trump administration's aggressive deportation efforts for lacking due process. Similar errors have surfaced in other cases, including that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man wrongly deported despite a court order, and Daniel Lozano-Camargo, a Venezuelan man deported to El Salvador in violation of a settlement agreement. What is OCG case O.C.G.'s case is part of a broader legal challenge to the administration's policy of relying on "third countries" for deportation. This policy allows authorities to deport immigrants to countries other than their home country if their home country refuses to accept them or if the immigrant has a legitimate fear of returning. The recent admission by ICE is likely to have significant implications for the ongoing lawsuit and further fuels concerns about the accuracy and due process within the U.S. immigration enforcement system under the previous administration. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Newsweek
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Trump Administration Admits Another Deportation Error
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trump administration has acknowledged that a person was deported from the United States on the back of erroneous information. Why It Matters It comes after Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Maryland resident, was deported to El Salvador last month despite a court order blocking his removal. Arrested in 2019 and accused of being part of the MS-13 gang—a group the Trump administration labels a terrorist organization—Abrego Garcia denied the claim, though two judges found him to be a member based on confidential information provided to the court. He had been protected from deportation due to fears that rival gangs in El Salvador would target him. ICE officials now say his deportation was the result of an "administrative error." Abrego Garcia has no U.S. criminal record. Trump campaigned on a hard-line immigration stance, pledging to carry out the largest mass deportation in U.S. history. In the initial months of his presidency, his administration said it had deported around 100,000 illegal immigrants, many following his invocation of the seldom used Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which grants the president authority to deport non-citizens without them appearing before a judge. What To Know The Trump administration has acknowledged another error in a deportation case involving a Guatemalan man,as first reported by Politico. In a late Friday court filing, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) admitted that it wrongly said a Guatemalan man had told officials he was not afraid to be deported to Mexico—a statement central to the government's defense in an ongoing class action lawsuit. The man, identified in court papers only by the initials O.C.G., said he was persecuted in both Guatemala and Mexico before arriving in the United States. ICE officials now say there is no record confirming that O.C.G. ever stated he was unafraid to return to Mexico. The discrepancy, they assert, was caused by flawed data entry in a software system known as the "ENFORCE alien removal module," which tracks deportation cases and allows officers to log case notes. "Upon further was unable to identify an officer or officers who asked O.C.G. if he feared a return to Mexico," wrote Brian Ortega, assistant field office director for ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations, in a sworn statement to the federal court. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, who is overseeing the class-action case, declined in April to immediately order the government to bring O.C.G. back from Mexico, in part because of the administration's claim that the man had not expressed fear of returning. Instead, Murphy ordered expedited fact-finding—a process that ultimately revealed the mistake. In this July 8, 2019, file photo, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer looks on during an operation in Escondido, Calif. In this July 8, 2019, file photo, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer looks on during an operation in Escondido, Calif. Gregory Bull/AP O.C.G.'s case is part of a broader legal challenge to the administration's use of so-called "third-country" deportations, a policy that allows immigrants to be sent to countries other than their own if their native governments refuse to accept them or if they fear persecution at home. Murphy has blocked such deportations without prior notice, ruling that individuals must be given a meaningful opportunity to contest their transfer and raise claims of torture or persecution. O.C.G., who fled Guatemala in April 2024, said he faced persecution at home and endured rape and captivity in Mexico for being gay. In February, an immigration judge granted him protection from deportation to Guatemala. But ICE deported him to Mexico soon after — without notice and allegedly in violation of due process. Judge Murphy cited O.C.G.'s case in his ruling halting third-country deportations without notice. Although he expressed skepticism about the government's claim regarding O.C.G.'s supposed statement to ICE, the disputed nature of the evidence led him to hold off on ordering the man's return. It is unclear if the administration's new admission will alter that stance. On Friday, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to remove a nationwide injunction imposed by Murphy in April, barring the rapid deportation of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally to nations other than their own country of origin without first hearing their concerns about safety. Also on Friday, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked further deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime statute revived by Trump to expedite deportations of those alleged to be gang members or terrorists, citing the government's failure to provide adequate due process. What Happens Next The case of O.C.G. will return to U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, who must now decide whether the Trump administration's admission changes the legal and humanitarian calculus for ordering the man's return from Mexico
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Admin Admits Error in Another High-Profile Deportation
In the latest in an ever-growing line of errors that have plagued the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, ICE officers have now admitted a software error may have resulted in a man being deported to Mexico, despite his legitimate fear of persecution. The revelation emerged as the result of a class-action lawsuit filed by a Guatemalan man who was deported to Mexico in March despite fears he would face persecution there on the basis of his sexuality. Initially, the administration argued that the man himself had told them he wasn't afraid to be sent to Mexico, but in a Friday court filing, they conceded that this argument was based on inaccurate information. Retracting their previous assertions, ICE officials have now said they have no record of the man telling anyone that he was unafraid of being sent to Mexico. They attributed the error to software known as the 'ENFORCE alien removal module,' which tracks deportations and allows ICE employees to add comments. Assistant field office director for ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations Brian Ortega said in a sworn statement, 'Upon further investigation… ICE was unable to identify an officer or officers who asked O.C.G. if he feared a return to Mexico.' O.C.G., a Guatemalan citizen, was deported to Mexico under a provision that allowed the government to rely on 'third countries' when an immigrant's home country won't accept them. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy blocked such deportations, arguing that people deported to third countries must also be given the opportunity to challenge their deportations in court. However, Murphy declined to go so far as to order the Trump administration to facilitate the man's immediate return from Mexico because of the ongoing dispute; as a result, he is still in a country where he has a genuine fear of persecution. The error is the most recent in a growing number of mistakes the Trump administration has made since Trump returned to the Oval Office earlier this year, the best known being the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a maximum security facility in El Salvador. Abrego Garcia was accused of having ties to MS-13, a gang the U.S. government has designated as a terrorist organization, and deported, in what the Trump administration has since admitted was an 'administrative error.' While his case continues to be litigated in court, Abrego Garcia is being held in a Salvadoran prison, having been transferred from the maximum security Terrorism Confinement Center or CECOT. Other mistakes include further wrongful deportations, including that of a gay makeup artist and another man whose application for asylum was still pending, a college student who was wrongly pulled over by police and sent to an ICE facility, two American citizen children who were deported, and citizens being sent emails warning them to self-deport as part of a scheme offering immigrants money to leave the country voluntarily. Many of the Trump administration's deportations have been the result of President Donald Trump's decision to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allows the president to expel foreigners from the country during wartime. On Friday, the Supreme Court extended its block of said deportations, arguing that the administration was routinely failing to provide adequate notice before initiating deportations and failing to allow potential deportees to contest their removal in court. This prompted Trump to have a meltdown on Truth Social, angrily posting, 'THE SUPREME COURT WON'T ALLOW US TO GET CRIMINALS OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!' and accusing the court of allowing criminals to '[do] great harm to our cherished American public.'
