A federal judge on Friday found the Trump administration<\/a> in contempt for deporting an asylum-seeker to El Salvador in violation of three court orders.<\/p>\n U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher ordered the government to return the man — identified in court documents as E.L.A. — to the U.S. and to “refrain” from executing any removal orders against him until his asylum case is fully processed.<\/p>\n According to court documents, E.L.A. was wrongfully deported twice.<\/p>\n After his first deportation, he voluntarily boarded a plane on August 7 to return to the U.S., “submitted himself” 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.”\u00a0<\/p>\n The case stems from a 2019 federal class-action lawsuit that protects the asylum rights of immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as unaccompanied minors<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to court documents, at least 107 people protected by the settlement — 54 confirmed class members and 53 more the government flagged as potentially protected — were removed under final deportation orders before their asylum claims were decided.<\/p>\n ICE agents depart the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Feb. 4, 2026, in Minneapolis.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n John Moore\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.<\/p>\n In August, Judge Gallagher found DHS in civil contempt, ruling that the government was repeatedly removing young asylum seekers it was legally barred from deporting.<\/p>\n Friday’s court order requires both parties to provide an update on E.L.A.’s return to the U.S. by Oct. 2.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Bishop\"](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/50676cf6-a99a-4074-9621-50e9d9d5d8c1\/ice-gty-er-260925_1790366731816_hpMain.jpg\" "\\"Bishop\\"")
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