Judge upholds decree compelling Trump administration to aid in asylum seeker's reinstatement after expulsion to El Salvador
In a recent turn of events, the legal battle for a 20-year-old Venezuelan asylum seeker, identified as "Cristian," continues. This individual was unjustly deported to El Salvador in mid-March, a move that contravened a 2019 settlement agreement protecting some young migrants with pending asylum claims.
The federal judge overseeing the case, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, appointed by President Donald Trump in 2019, refused to rescind her order to facilitate Cristian's return to the United States. She did, however, temporarily put her order on hold to allow the government to appeal the decision within the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals.
Since the initial court ruling, the Trump administration has shown little effort to adhere to Judge Gallagher's directive. The directive required the administration to take steps to ensure Cristian's return from El Salvador, where he currently resides in a mega-prison, to have his asylum application processed.
The Trump administration has recently argued that an "indicative decision" has been made to deny Cristian's asylum application if he returns to the U.S., based on the claim that he's a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. However, Judge Gallagher dismissed this as a premature and biased decision, one that essentially prejudges the outcome of the asylum proceeding.
During a hearing in Baltimore, Judge Gallagher expressed her disdain for the administration's disregard for due process rights. "It may be that the result here for Cristian is no asylum," she said. "But the settlement agreement says that we don't just get to skip to the end. Process is important; people are entitled to that."
Cristian's case is not the only one currently under review. Another man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, was also unlawfully deported in March and sent to the same El Salvador prison, in violation of a 2019 court order. The judge overseeing Garcia's case is conducting an expedited fact-finding process to determine the administration's compliance with her directive for his return.
The Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 wartime law, to justify the swift removal of these migrants. However, the settlement agreement Cristian and Garcia are part of, finalized in November 2019, did not include an exception for any use of that law.
- The federal judge, Stephanie Gallagher, is currently overseeing a case involving a 20-year-old Venezuelan asylum seeker named Cristian, who was unjustly deported to El Salvador in mid-March, contravening a 2019 settlement agreement.
- In a recent turn of events, another man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, was also unlawfully deported in March and sent to the same El Salvador prison, violating a 2019 court order.
- During a hearing in Baltimore, Judge Gallagher expressed her disdain for the administration's disregard for due process rights, stating that while the result for Cristian may be no asylum, the settlement agreement stipulates that process is important and people are entitled to it.
- The Trump administration's recent arguments to deny Cristian's asylum application if he returns to the U.S., based on his alleged membership in the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, were dismissed by Judge Gallagher as premature and biased, prejudging the outcome of the asylum proceeding.
