Trump Admin Admits Another Error In Deportations as ICE Can’t Back Up Claim About Man’s Safety
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers gather for a briefing before an enforcement operation, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) admitted this week that they could not verify a claim that a deported migrant suing the Trump administration told officials he was not afraid to be sent to Mexico.
In a late Friday court filing, first reported by Politico, Brian Ortega, assistant field office director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, said that “ICE was unable to identify an officer or officers who asked O.C.G. if he feared a return to Mexico.”
The original claim was made after the Guatemalan man sued the administration in March. They responded by saying he had told officers he did not fear being sent back to Mexico. The man said he first fled Mexico in 2024 to escape “persecution and torture.” He said he left his home country in March 2024 and presented himself for asylum at the border. He did not meet with an asylum officer and was instead sent back to Guatemala.
The Trump administration has admitted to errors in the past in regards to their massive deportation operation. The administration acknowledged that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was sent to an El Salvadoran megaprison in error, but they’ve identified him as an MS-13 gang member despite a lack of gang-related convictions. Footage from a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop showed officers suspecting Garcia at the time of “hauling people for money.” He’s maintained he is not a gang member.
According to ICE, the mistake made in the case of the Guatemalan migrant is due to a flawed entry into the “ENFORCE alien removal module,” software being used to track deportations. The system also allows officers to “lace comments into each alien’s record regarding the status of their case, any court updates, or other relevant case information.”
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy had declined to order the man’s return in April following the original lawsuit because of the claim that he had said he was unafraid to be sent back to his home country.
