Day 556

Judge Holds DHS in Contempt Twice for Deporting Protected Young Asylum Seekers, Including One Teen Deported to El Salvador Twice

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.