Attorneys representing a young man wrongfully deported to El Salvador in violation of a court-protected asylum agreement are urging a federal judge to hold members of the Trump administration in contempt, citing what they call “recurring” and “egregious” legal violations.
Daniel Lozano-Camargo, 20, identified in court records by the pseudonym “Cristian,” was supposed to be shielded from deportation while his asylum case was pending with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). However, earlier this year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents deported him—despite a legal injunction—alongside hundreds of others to El Salvador. He was then transferred to the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT).
Lozano-Camargo was eventually returned to Venezuela last week as part of a three-country prisoner exchange, which also brought home 10 U.S. nationals previously detained by Venezuelan authorities.
‘A Pawn in a Political Deal’
“He was a pawn in this prisoner exchange deal,” attorney Kevin DeJong said during a Tuesday court hearing, as reported by CNN. “They were taking active, purposeful steps to deport him to the country in which he actually fears persecution.”
Court filings show that Lozano-Camargo’s legal team repeatedly warned the court that deporting him to Venezuela—a country from which he had fled—would violate standing judicial orders. In a letter submitted last week, the attorneys noted that the government’s actions directly defied an April 23 court order and contradicted its previous claims that it lacked the authority to return the young man to the United States.
U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, a Trump appointee, ordered the government to explain Lozano-Camargo’s whereabouts. The Justice Department confirmed he had been sent to Venezuela.
The Venezuelan government offered assurances that Lozano-Camargo could be returned to the U.S. if required by court proceedings.
Pattern of Defiance Alleged
DeJong pressed the court to consider criminal contempt, citing the administration’s repeated defiance of court rulings.
“This isn’t a one-time error,” he argued. “There have been recurring violations and just blatant disregard for the settlement agreement, the court’s orders. Someone should be held accountable.”
Judge Gallagher previously ruled in April that the U.S. government must make efforts to return Lozano-Camargo so he could participate in his asylum process, as outlined in the parties’ legally binding settlement. That ruling was briefly stayed by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals but ultimately upheld, with the court sharply criticizing the administration’s attempts to sidestep Supreme Court precedent in a similar deportation case.
By June, Judge Gallagher was demanding regular progress reports from the federal government regarding efforts to bring Lozano-Camargo back to the U.S., warning of possible sanctions.
In July, however, El Salvador’s government asserted that jurisdiction over the CECOT detainees belonged solely to Salvadoran authorities—prompting the court to demand clarification from the Trump administration, which had insisted otherwise.
Government Pushes Back
During Tuesday’s hearing, DOJ attorney Ruth Ann Mueller denied any wrongdoing, saying the government was prepared to help Lozano-Camargo return to the U.S. and was working to remove “domestic barriers” to facilitate that.
Judge Gallagher acknowledged that while the progress reports were no longer necessary now that the man is in Venezuela, the question of whether her orders had been followed remained unresolved.
“I don’t disagree that you have proffered a basis under which you could potentially seek some sort of sanctions or contempt,” she told the plaintiff’s attorneys. “I’m certainly not ruling on that – or offering any opinion on whether that effort would succeed.”
Lozano-Camargo’s legal team indicated they would file a motion for contempt within 10 days.
