A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to return a 20-year-old Honduran man and his American citizen daughter after finding immigration authorities denied him access to legal representation and shuttled him through six detention centers while his lawyers frantically searched for him.
Ten Days Without Legal Contact
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell issued a blistering order describing how Jose Eliezer Martinez-Andino was removed from the country in a manner that “boggles the mind.” The judge found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Martinez-Andino in Montana during March as part of ongoing immigration enforcement operations. Over the following days, authorities transferred him between at least six different detention facilities across multiple states without informing his legal team of his whereabouts.
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For more than ten days, his attorneys could not contact Martinez-Andino despite repeated requests to both ICE and Customs and Border Protection asking which agency held him and where. The judge determined he was likely denied due process protections, including his constitutional right to legal counsel, before being removed from American soil and sent back to Honduras.
History of Legal Immigration Status
Martinez-Andino first entered the United States in 2020 at age 14 and was classified as an unaccompanied minor. A judge had previously dismissed his removal proceedings after determining he held an approved application for a Special Immigrant Juvenile Visa. This visa category protects minors who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected and cannot reunify with parents in their home country. The dismissal of removal proceedings typically means the individual can remain in the United States legally.
Government Pushes Back on Allegations
The Department of Homeland Security disputed claims that Martinez-Andino lacked access to attorneys. A DHS spokesperson stated that Border Patrol arrested Martinez-Andino on March 18, noting he entered the country illegally through Mexico before being encountered and released by the Biden administration in September 2020. According to the statement, he accepted a voluntary return and departed on April 13. The spokesperson called any claims about blocked attorney access false.
Precedent for Return Orders
Judge Howell cited a similar case involving Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongly deported last year before courts ordered his return. The judge instructed the administration to immediately facilitate Martinez-Andino’s return to ensure his immigration case proceeds as it would have without the improper deportation. The order includes his U.S. citizen daughter, whose constitutional rights as an American were also affected by the removal of her father.