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

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 case:

• 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.