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Judge orders return of cartel witness deported to Mexico despite torture protection
ReJudge orders return of cartel witness deported to Mexico despite torture protection
A federal judge ordered the return of a father of two who helped U.S. prosecutors convict Mexican cartel members, after immigration officials deported him to Mexico despite a court order protecting him from removal due to the risk of torture.
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to return a father of two who helped U.S. prosecutors convict Mexican cartel members, after immigration officials deported him to Mexico despite a court order protecting him from removal due to the risk of torture.
The man, identified only as John Doe, was granted Deferral of Removal under the Convention Against Torture in 2024. An immigration judge found he would likely be tortured if returned to Mexico, where he had testified against cartel-affiliated defendants on behalf of the Justice Department.
U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher filed a memorandum opinion Friday detailing a chaotic series of removals beginning in July. According to the opinion, Doe was illegally removed three times in recent weeks, including one attempt to deport him to Guatemala, which refused to accept him and handed him to Mexican officials, who also declined to take him.
Doe was deported to Mexico outright on Aug. 1 without his phone or other personal belongings, the court record shows. The opinion notes that Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director David Venturella and Secretary of State Marco Rubio personally moved to terminate Doe's protection just days before his removal, a process the court called extremely rare, with no explanation in the record for their involvement.
Journalist Kyle Cheney reported on social media that Doe was illegally removed three times in recent weeks, including to Mexico despite his protection. Former immigration attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick said Doe put himself at enormous risk to turn on the cartels and testify against them, making him a target for a hideous death if they ever got their hands on him, adding that the administration deported him to Mexico anyway.
Gallagher ordered Doe's immediate return and directed that he be detained within 200 miles of Baltimore, Maryland, if held further, with daily status reports required until he arrives.
The case has drawn broader criticism of the administration's immigration enforcement approach. Journalist Christy Somos described the pattern as the administration grabbing people and throwing them wherever, including other countries, camps, and dangerous situations.
The ruling comes amid record-level immigration enforcement. Federal sources reported that agents made about 51,000 immigration arrests in July, topping the previous record of roughly 43,000 in June.
