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Judge holds DHS in contempt for deporting young asylum seeker twice, orders his return

A federal judge in Maryland ruled the government violated three court orders by removing a 19-year-old to El Salvador and ordered him brought back while his asylum claim is decided.

Motion Media News Staff

Sep 25, 2026

3 minutes

A blue sign reading Edward A. Garmatz United States Courthouse, 101 West Lombard St.

Photo: Eli Pousson/Baltimore Heritage, CC0 (public domain dedication), via Wikimedia Commons (source)

A federal judge on Friday, Sept. 25, held the Department of Homeland Security in contempt for sending a young asylum seeker back to El Salvador despite three court orders barring it, and ordered the government to bring him back to the United States.

U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher of the District of Maryland, an appointee of President Trump, ruled in the case of a 19-year-old identified in court papers as E.L.A., who was wrongly removed twice, ABC News reported. She ordered the government to "refrain" from carrying out any removal order against him until his asylum claim has been fully handled.

What the order requires

In a brief public order, Gallagher said E.L.A. must be returned and reunited with his property and documents, Bloomberg Law reported. Before any future attempt to remove him, the government must notify his lawyers five or more business days ahead and state its legal authority. No removal order may be carried out until a final decision on his asylum claim or the settlement governing his case expires.

The order does not bar immigration authorities from detaining him after he returns, which his attorneys had sought, according to Bloomberg Law. Gallagher's legal reasoning is in a sealed memorandum that could be released after the parties propose redactions. Both sides must report on his return by Oct. 2, ABC said.

How it happened

After his first deportation, E.L.A. boarded a flight back to the U.S. on Aug. 7, turned himself in to immigration custody and "endured weeks of detention only to be wrongfully removed by the government a second time to his country of feared persecution," according to court documents cited by ABC.

Government lawyers acknowledged he had been improperly removed earlier this month but attributed it to a miscommunication, Bloomberg Law reported. They said E.L.A. had not agreed to return without assurances that his asylum claim would not be ended over missed biometrics appointments last year.

The broader case

The dispute stems from a 2019 class action, J.O.P. v. Department of Homeland Security, filed on behalf of asylum seekers who first entered the country as children traveling alone; a settlement was reached in 2024. Court documents show that 107 or more people covered by the settlement, including 54 confirmed class members and 53 the government identified as possibly covered, were deported under final orders before their asylum claims were decided, according to ABC.

Gallagher had already held the government in contempt once this year in the same case. Bloomberg Law dated the earlier finding to July, while ABC placed it in August. DHS did not immediately respond to ABC's request for comment.

What's next

The parties' update on E.L.A.'s return is due Oct. 2, and the sealed memorandum explaining the ruling may be made public after redactions are proposed.