D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (return of O.C.G.)

An immigration judge granted O.C.G. withholding of removal to Guatemala, his home country, after finding it more likely than not that he would suffer serious harm there. The court sets out what happened next: “Two days later, and without any notice, O.C.G. was placed on a bus and sent to Mexico, a country where he was previously held for ransom and raped.” And then: “As a result, O.C.G. was given up to Mexico, which then sent him back to Guatemala, where he remains in hiding today.” The government had filed a declaration, made under oath, stating that O.C.G. said before removal that he had no fear of Mexico. The court records that on 16 May 2025 the government “acknowledged an ‘error’ in their previous filings and statements to the Court.” Finding a likelihood of success on the due process claim, and rejecting the government’s argument under 8 U.S.C. 1252(g) on the ground that “Defendants’ gestalt argument cannot supersede the plain text of the statute as interpreted by authority binding on this Court,” the court ordered the government “to take all immediate steps, including coordinating with Plaintiffs’ counsel, to facilitate the return of O.C.G. to the United States.” The same order records what had been said in the immigration court: “During the withholding-only proceedings, O.C.G. asked if he might be sent to Mexico—because he was afraid of being sent to Mexico—and the immigration judge told him, ‘we cannot send you back to Mexico, sir, because you’re a native of Guatemala.’ ... At the close of that hearing, the government’s attorney clarified with the immigration judge that, because Guatemala was the country of removal designated on O.C.G.’s order of removal, that was the only relevant country for purposes of the withholding-only proceedings, and the immigration judge agreed.” (784 F. Supp. 3d at 407, as quoted in the judgment of 25 February 2026.)

Caution A preliminary injunction, not a final judgment, and it concerns one named plaintiff rather than the certified class. It is separate from the April 18, 2025 classwide injunction that the Supreme Court stayed on June 23, 2025, and separate from the February 25, 2026 judgment now on appeal as First Circuit No. 26-1212. The government did not resist this order. Five days later it reported that a Significant Public Benefit Parole packet had been approved and that ICE Air was working to bring him back. He was returned. The court recorded in its judgment of 25 February 2026 that it ordered his return, “which the Government later facilitated,” and the plaintiffs stated that he “has been returned [to the United States] and released.”

Third-country designation Notice Withholding of removal Chain refoulement Onward transfer Due process Jurisdiction Remedy

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