A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to return three immigrant families to the United States, finding that immigration agents used “lies, deception, and coercion” to deport them despite protections under a 2023 settlement.
Judge cites wrongful removal as reasons to order return
U.S. District Judge Dana M. Sabraw ruled that the families — who were separated at the southern border under the first Trump administration’s “Zero Tolerance” policy — were unlawfully removed last summer. The settlement granted them temporary legal status and a path to reunification, protections the judge said were rendered “illusory” by the deportations.
“The manner in which each of these removals was affected, in addition to being unlawful, involved lies, deception, and coercion,” Sabraw wrote in the eight-page order.
Mother case highlights erroneous removal process
In one case, a mother who had been separated from her daughter in 2018 was told during a routine check-in that her legal status “did not matter” and was instructed to bring her children and passports. She was warned that if she did not self-deport, her children could be placed in foster care or put up for adoption. The family, including a 6-year-old U.S. citizen child, was later detained and flown to Honduras.
Sabraw ordered the government to cover the cost of returning the families, writing that without the unlawful removals, they would still be in the U.S. and entitled to settlement benefits.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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