The Trump administration is working to return another individual to the United States who was wrongfully deported to their home country in violation of a court order.
Officials acknowledged in a court filing last week that Britania Uriostegui Rios, a transgender woman, was “inadvertently” deported to Mexico in violation of a March court order which ruled that she was likely to face torture if she returned there.
The administration is working to bring Uriostegui Rios back to the US from Tijuana while it looks for an alternative country to deport her to. Uriostegui Rios is also suing to force the administration to release her from custody when she returns to the US.
The Nevada resident, who has a criminal record, lost her lawful permanent resident status in 2023 after pleading guilty to a felony assault with a deadly weapon. She received a suspended criminal sentence and was then placed in deportation proceedings, where an immigration judge ordered her deportation earlier this year.
But the judge barred the administration from deporting her to Mexico, finding it likely that she would be tortured or killed as a result of her transgender status.
Despite that order, lawyers for Uriostegui Rios told Politico that last week that she was abruptly transported from Louisiana to Texas and placed on a bus to Mexico. After the lawyers made inquiries, the justice department acknowledged the error.
“ICE confirmed that your client was removed to Mexico inadvertently,” a justice department attorney wrote in a 12 November email filed in federal court. The next day, the attorney added: “ICE stands ready to remedy the inadvertent removal by allowing your client to voluntarily reenter the United States if your client wishes to do so.”
According to a court filing, the administration has tried unsuccessfully to send Uriostegui Rios to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador since March.
The US Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been approached for comment.
It comes after the high-profile case of Kilmar Ábrego García, who was erroneously deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration in March despite a court order barring him being sent there as he faced danger from a gang that targeted his family.
After the case drew national attention and even pressure from the US supreme court, the Trump administration eventually returned him to the US in June.
However, the day he arrived back in the US, Ábrego was indicted on human smuggling charges, which a federal judge concluded last month could be an illegal retaliation from the Trump administration.
Ábrego pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, Ábrego will be deported, federal officials have said. Last month a US immigration judge denied his claim for asylum, though he can appeal.