A court halted his deportation. The Trump administration deported him 28 minutes later. - POLITICO [View all]
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/30/trump-administration-deports-fourth-immigrant-court-order-violation-00378173
The Trump administration has admitted that it improperly deported another immigrant in violation of a court order the fourth known case in which the administration deported someone erroneously or in breach of specific legal requirements.
Jordin Melgar-Salmeron, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, had been in immigration detention since 2022 while deportation proceedings against him were pending. But on May 7, shortly after a federal appeals court ordered the government to keep him in the United States, immigration authorities deported him back to his native country.
Matthew Borowski, a lawyer for Melgar-Salmeron, told POLITICO that he intends to ask the court to order the government to return his client from El Salvador and to hold government officials in contempt.
In court papers this week, officials blamed a confluence of administrative errors, including missed emails and an inaccurate roster of passengers on the May 7 deportation flight. The Justice Department declined to comment, and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment.
The deportation of Melgar-Salmeron was first reported by the Investigative Post, a nonprofit news outlet in western New York.
NEW: The Trump administration has conceded that it improperly deported another Salvadoran man in violation of a court order â blaming a "confluence of administrative errors."
The man's lawyer plans to demand his return.
www.politico.com/news/2025/05...
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney.bsky.social) 2025-05-30T22:52:15.455Z
Jordin Melgar-Salmeron had a criminal record â he pleaded guilty in 2021 to possessing an unregistered gun â but his deportation had been on hold since 2024 amid broader Biden-era litigation.
The Trump admin sought to speed his removal last month. www.politico.com/news/2025/05...
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney.bsky.social) 2025-05-30T22:59:58.501Z
DOJ had assured a federal appeals court court that Melgar-Salmeron wouldn't be deported before May 8-9. But after the court issued a May 7 order blocking his deportation, ICE put him on a plane just minutes later and told the court he was gone. www.politico.com/news/2025/05...
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney.bsky.social) 2025-05-30T23:00:57.193Z
Story was first reported earlier today by the Investgiatve Post and J. Dale Shoemaker, who did an excellent job unearthing key details. We have confirmed and reviewed/posted the key court filings as well.
www.investigativepost.org/2025/05/30/a...
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney.bsky.social) 2025-05-30T23:07:01.638Z