Trump-appointed judge holds administration in contempt for deporting a 19-year-old asylum-seeker to El Salvador twice

Political Guyentist · September 27, 20261 min read

The removals broke three court orders, from November 2024, April 2025 and July 2026. It is Gallagher's second contempt finding in a class action filed in 2019, whose settlement protects the asylum claims of people who arrived as unaccompanied minors.

The wider caseAt least 107 people covered by the settlement were deported before their asylum claims were decided: 54 confirmed class members…3 details

At least 107 people covered by the settlement were deported before their asylum claims were decided: 54 confirmed class members plus 53 the government flagged as possibly protected.
Gallagher's first contempt finding in the case came in August.
Both sides must update the court on E.L.A.'s return by Oct. 2.

What we’re less sure of3 of 6 claims

Medium
The removals broke three court orders, dated November 2024, April 2025 and July 2026.
Raw Story reports that three court orders were defied. None of the listed sources confirms the three specific dates, so the dating is partially inferred.
Low
The case is a 2019 class-action settlement protecting the asylum claims of people who arrived as unaccompanied minors.
J.O.P. v. DHS was filed in 2019, but public record places the settlement's final approval in late 2024. The story's '2019 settlement' appears to conflate the filing year with the settlement, and no listed source supports that dating.
Medium
At least 107 people covered by the settlement were deported before their asylum claims were decided: 54 confirmed class members plus 53 the government flagged as possibly protected.
The figures are internally consistent, but no listed source title or description corroborates the 54/53 breakdown. The breakdown is apparently from a single source, and the story does not name who produced it.