Judge orders DHS to return migrant deported to Honduras

A federal judge has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to continue efforts to return a 21-year-old Honduran immigrant to the United States after finding he is likely to succeed on claims that immigration officials violated his constitutional rights before deporting him to Honduras.

In a 46-page opinion issued Saturday, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell granted a preliminary injunction requiring the government to facilitate the return of Jose Martinez-Andino, a Special Immigrant Juvenile status recipient who was authorized to work in the U.S. and was pursuing lawful permanent residency.

Newsweek has contacted the Honduran government, the DHS and the man’s legal team for comment via email and is awaiting replies.

The ruling follows an earlier temporary restraining order issued in June, but comes after fuller briefing from both sides and rejects government arguments that the court lacked authority to order Martinez-Andino’s return.

Howell concluded Martinez-Andino is likely to prevail on claims that immigration officials denied him access to his attorney for 10 days while he was in government custody and ignored repeated attempts to withdraw a signed agreement for voluntary departure before placing him on a flight to Honduras.

“Plaintiff has demonstrated a likelihood of success on his claims that his agreement to depart voluntarily was not knowing and voluntary and that he was deprived of access to retained counsel, while in defendants’ custody,” the judge wrote.

Martinez-Andino, who lives in North Carolina and works as a mechanic, entered the United States as an unaccompanied minor from Honduras in 2020. He later obtained Special Immigrant Juvenile status, a form of humanitarian relief available to certain immigrant children who have suffered abuse, neglect or abandonment.

Martinez-Andino was arrested by immigration authorities in Montana on March 18, according to court filings. Within roughly 24 hours of his detention, he signed forms agreeing to leave the United States voluntarily.

The government argued those documents showed he knowingly and voluntarily agreed to depart.

Martinez-Andino, however, said the forms were never properly explained to him and that he believed signing them was his only option. He also said he repeatedly told immigration officials he wanted to revoke the agreement and sought access to an attorney after his family retained counsel.

His lawyer, Alison Chan, told the court she was unable to locate him for days despite contacting multiple immigration offices and agencies.

The judge found that the government had submitted no declarations from officers involved in Martinez-Andino’s detention or removal to rebut his account.

Even if the original agreement had been valid, Howell said Martinez-Andino was entitled to withdraw it before leaving the country.

Court records show the voluntary departure form itself stated that he could change his mind and request a hearing before an immigration judge any time before leaving the United States.

Martinez-Andino said he repeatedly attempted to do exactly that.

“Plaintiff has met his burden of showing, for the purposes of his preliminary injunction motion, that he invoked the provision of the Form I-826 allowing him to revoke his voluntary departure, but to no avail,” Howell wrote.

The judge also slammed the government’s handling of Martinez-Andino’s access to counsel, noting that his attorney entered an appearance on March 31 but neither ICE nor Customs and Border Protection provided information about his whereabouts before he was deported on April 10.

Howell found that denying a detainee access to retained counsel while facing possible removal raises serious due process concerns.

The court further concluded Martinez-Andino faced ongoing harm while remaining in Honduras. The judge cited his separation from his 3-year-old U.S.-citizen daughter and his claims that he fears violence if forced to remain in the country.

The ruling relies heavily on the Supreme Court’s recent decision involving Kilmar Abrego Garcia, in which the justices indicated courts may require the government to facilitate the return of migrants who were improperly removed from the United States.

Howell said Martinez-Andino had shown a likelihood that he was “improperly sent” to Honduras and that requiring DHS to facilitate his return was necessary so his immigration case could proceed as it would have absent the alleged constitutional violations.

The judge declined to set a deadline for Martinez-Andino’s return but ordered DHS to submit progress reports every 48 hours detailing efforts to bring him back to the United States.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Tobias Meyjes and James Debens