{"slug":"jop-settlement-contempt-ela-deported-twice","title":"Judge Holds DHS in Contempt Twice for Deporting Protected Young Asylum Seekers, Including One Teen Deported to El Salvador Twice","date":"2026-07-29","lastUpdated":"2026-09-26","description":"In J.O.P. v. DHS, a nationwide class action brought by asylum seekers who entered the United States as unaccompanied children, a 2024 settlement bars DHS from deporting class members before their asylum claims are decided. On July 29, 2026, U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher, a Trump appointee in the District of Maryland, held DHS in civil contempt after at least 107 protected people (54 confirmed class members and 53 the government itself had flagged as potentially protected) were deported anyway. She rejected DHS's 'good faith' defense. DHS then deported E.L.A., a 19-year-old class member who had been wrongly removed to El Salvador in March and returned in August, a second time on September 1. On September 25, Gallagher held DHS in contempt again, finding it had violated three separate court orders, and ordered E.L.A. returned.","summary":"A Trump-appointed federal judge twice held DHS in contempt in 2026 for deporting young asylum seekers protected by a court settlement: at least 107 removals found in July, then the second deportation to El Salvador of the same 19-year-old in September, after he had already been returned once. DHS blamed 'communication errors.'","category":"deportation","severity":"critical","ongoing":true,"sources":[{"url":"https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/judge-finds-dhs-in-contempt-after-teen-illegally-deported-twice","title":"Judge Finds DHS in Contempt After Teen Illegally Deported Twice","publisher":"Bloomberg Law"},{"url":"https://www.newsweek.com/judge-finds-dhs-in-contempt-orders-deported-teen-be-returned-12492308","title":"Judge Finds DHS in Contempt, Orders Deported Teen Be Returned","publisher":"Newsweek"},{"url":"https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/judge-holds-dhs-in-contempt-for-deporting-man-to-el-salvador-6095133","title":"Judge Holds DHS in Contempt for Deporting Man to El Salvador","publisher":"The Epoch Times"},{"url":"https://nipnlg.org/news/press-releases/federal-court-finds-dhs-contempt-over-removals-young-asylum-seekers-protected","title":"Federal Court Finds DHS in Contempt Over Removals of Young Asylum Seekers Protected by Settlement","publisher":"National Immigration Project"},{"url":"https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/judge-finds-trump-administration-contempt-asylum-seeker-removal-el-salvador-1822119","title":"Trump-Appointed Judge Finds ICE in Contempt Over the 'Wrongful Removal' of a 'Young Person' to El Salvador","publisher":"International Business Times UK"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["DHS","ICE","contempt of court","wrongful deportation","asylum","unaccompanied minors","El Salvador","J.O.P. v. DHS","court defiance"],"relatedEntries":["wrongful-deportations-pattern","abrego-garcia-wrongful-deportation","ice-defies-courthouse-arrest-order","deportation-traps-due-process"],"timeline":[{"date":"2026-03-13","title":"E.L.A. deported to El Salvador despite settlement protection","summary":"DHS removes E.L.A., a class member who entered as an unaccompanied minor, to El Salvador before his asylum claim is decided."},{"date":"2026-07-29","title":"First contempt finding: at least 107 protected people removed","summary":"Judge Gallagher holds DHS in civil contempt for repeatedly removing people it was barred from deporting: 54 confirmed class members and 53 others DHS had flagged as potentially protected. She orders DHS to check protective flags before every removal, issue nationwide written guidance to ICE staff, and report to the court every two weeks."},{"date":"2026-08-06","title":"Contempt ruling made public","summary":"Class counsel, including the National Immigration Project, announce the ruling. The court rejected DHS's argument that self-reporting wrongful removals after the fact demonstrated good faith."},{"date":"2026-09-01","title":"E.L.A. deported to El Salvador a second time","summary":"After being returned to the US in early August, E.L.A. is detained in Louisiana and deported to El Salvador again."},{"date":"2026-09-25","title":"Second contempt finding; return ordered","summary":"Gallagher holds DHS in contempt again, finding violations of three separate orders. She orders E.L.A. returned with his property and documents, requires at least five business days' notice and a cited legal authority before any future removal attempt, and bars execution of a removal order until USCIS decides his asylum claim or the settlement expires."}],"custom":{"posture":"judicial-finding","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol","article":"Article 33","provision":"Non-refoulement: removal of asylum seekers before their claims are adjudicated risks return to persecution"},{"statute":"Convention on the Rights of the Child (signed, not ratified by the US)","article":"Article 22","provision":"Appropriate protection for children seeking refugee status; class members entered as unaccompanied minors"}],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"E.L.A., 19, a Salvadoran asylum seeker who entered the United States as an unaccompanied minor in 2023 and was deported twice; at least 107 other people protected or potentially protected by the J.O.P. settlement who were removed before their asylum claims were decided.","perpetrators":"Department of Homeland Security; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removal operations.","keyPoints":["The 2024 J.O.P. settlement protects asylum seekers who entered the US as unaccompanied children from removal until USCIS decides their asylum claims (Bloomberg Law, National Immigration Project).","Judge Gallagher found DHS in civil contempt in July 2026 after at least 107 protected people were removed: 54 confirmed class members and 53 whom the government itself had flagged as potentially protected. The court rejected DHS's 'good faith' defense (National Immigration Project).","E.L.A., 19, was deported to El Salvador on March 13, 2026, returned to the US in early August, and deported again on September 1 while in Louisiana detention (Newsweek, Epoch Times).","On September 25, 2026, Gallagher found the second removal violated orders of November 25, 2024, April 23, 2025, and July 29, 2026, and ordered his return (International Business Times, Bloomberg Law).","DHS called it an 'erroneous removal' caused by 'communication errors' and said E.L.A. had requested voluntary departure (Newsweek)."],"legalBasis":"Civil contempt of the court's November 25, 2024, April 23, 2025, and July 29, 2026 orders enforcing the J.O.P. v. DHS settlement (D. Md. No. 8:19-cv-01944); 8 U.S.C. § 1158 asylum procedures for unaccompanied children; Refugee Convention Article 33 (non-refoulement).","postureNote":"Two civil contempt findings (July 29 and September 25, 2026) by Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher, D. Md. DHS acknowledged the second removal was erroneous. The court requires DHS to report every two weeks on removed class members and corrective actions.","relatedIncidents":["wrongful-deportations-pattern","abrego-garcia-wrongful-deportation","ice-defies-courthouse-arrest-order","deportation-traps-due-process"]}}